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" When you are grown, will you not become a Missionary and 
come to India ?" Page 3D6. 



VOICE FROM THE EAST 



YOUNG, 



SERIES OF LETTERS TO THE CHILDREN OP THE 

REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH 

OF NORTH AMERICA. 



BY 

JOHN ""SCUDDER, D.D,. 

OF TKE MADEAS MISSION, INDIA. 



*7 



BOARD OF PUBLICATION 

OF THE 

REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH, 
83 7 Broadtvat. 



1856 



Enteeed, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 
REV. THOMAS C. STRONG, 

On behalf of the Board of Publication of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Chiirch 
North America, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United 
States for the Southern District of New- York. 



•> 



S^\ 



\V- 



cj^ 



« 



fttitxB U Cljilk^n. 



ISrUMBEE I. 

My Dear Children: I have thonght 
tliat it miglit be well for me to give you some 
account of the heathen of India, in a series of 
short letters. In this, my first letter, I will 
tell you something about their gods. Of 
these it is said that there are three hundred 
and thirty millions.* Brahm holds the first 
place among them ; and, though he is called 
the Supreme Being, he is never worshipped. 
Generally he is fast asleep. In the place of 
Brahm, the Hindoos worship many of the 
gods just alluded to. These gods are of all 
colors — some black, some white, some blue, 
some red ; gods of all sizes and shapes — some 

* Most of the facts about the Hindoos, in the following 
letters, are taken from Ward, Dubois, and Duff. 



LETTEllS TO CHILDREN. 



in tlie shape of beasts, some in tlie shape of 
men, some partly in the shape of beasts and 
partly in the shape of men, having four or ten 
or a hnndred or a thousand eyes, heads, and 
hands. Some ride through the air on ele- 
phants, buffaloes, lions, deer, sheep, goats, 
peacocks, vultures, geese, serpents, and rats. 
They hold in their hands all kinds of wea- 
pons, offensive and defensive — ^thunderbolts, 
javelins, spears, clubs, bows, arrows, shields, 
flags, and shells. They are of all employ- 
ments. There are gods of the heavens above, 
and of the earth below ; gods of wisdom and 
of folly ; gods of war and of peace ; gods of 
good and of evil ; gods of pleasure ; gods of 
cruelty and wrath, whose thirst must be sati- 
ated with torrents of blood. These gods fight 
and quarrel with one another. They lie, steal, 
commit adultery, murder, and other crimes. 
They pour out their curses when they can not 
succeed in their wicked plots, and invent all 
kinds of lying tales to hide their wickedness. 
There are three principal gods, who com- 
pose what is called the Hindoo triad. Their 
names are Brumha, Yishnoo, and Siva. These 
were some how or other drawn from Brahm's 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



essence, on one occasion wlien he was awake. 
Brumlia, they say, was the creator of the 
world, Yishnoo the preserver, and Siva the 
destroyer. Brnmha has no temple erected to 
his worship, on account of a falsehood which 
it is said he told. I will tell you what it was ; 
Once they say there was a dispute between 
him and Vishnoo as to who was the greatest ; 
while thus disputing, Siva appeared between 
the two as a fire-post, and told them that he 
who would find the bottom or the top of this 
post first, would show that he was the great- 
est. Vishnoo immediately changed himself 
into a hog and began to root up the earth, 
with the hope of finding the bottom of it. 
Brumha changed himself into a swan, flew up 
to the top of it, and cried out, " I have found 
it !" when he had not. This you know, my 
dear children, was a falsehood. For this false- 
hood, it is said that no temple is erected for 
his worship. Yishnoo was a thief and a liar. 
He was once dwelling in the house of a dairy- 
man, and he used constantly to be stealing 
butter and curdled milk from the dairyman's 
wife. She did not know for a long time what 
had become of her butter and her curdled 



10 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

milk ; but at last she fonnd out tliat Yislmoo 
was tlie tliief. To pnnisli liiin for Ms theft, 
she tied him to a rice-poimder. 

Siva's conduct was very bad. I will tell 
you but one thing about him. On one occa- 
sion he was playing at cards with his wife, 
Parvathe. Yishnoo was appointed to deter- 
mine who was the best player. After playing 
for a little season, Parvathe won the game. 
Siva then beckoned to Yishnoo to declare that 
he, instead of Parvathe, had won it. This he 
did. In consequence of this falsehood, he was 
cursed by Parvathe, and changed into a snake. 

And now, my dear children, why do I tell 
you about these gods ? I tell you for the pur- 
pose of making you thankful that you were 
born in a Christian land, where you have the 
Bible to teach you better things. Had you 
not the Bible, you would worship just such 
wretched beings as these poor Hindoos wor- 
ship. Perhaps you know that our Saxon 
fathers, before they had the Bible, worshipped 
Thor and "Woden, and other similar idols, and 
they were even in the habit of offering up hu- 
man sacrifices. Sometimes they would make 
an image sixty feet in height, and, after hav- 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN-, 11 

ing put witMn it forty, fifty, or sixty liying 
beings, they would set fire to it, and bnrn 
them all up. They used also to offer tip one 
in ten of all the prisoners they took in their 
wars to their gods. Surely if any thing conld 
make you give your hearts to your Saviour, 
and love hnn above all things, it is Grod's gift 
to you of the Bible. I tell you about these 
gods for another reason also ; and this is, that 
you may pray for the poor creatures who wor- 
ship them — and not only pray for them, but 
give your money to send the Gospel to them. 
Perhaps, after you grow up, you will come 
out as missionaries to tell them of the Saviour. 



12 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE II. 

My Deae Childeen: If you wiU take 

up your map of Hindoostan, you will see on 
the Coromandel coast the city of Madras, 
where I am. Above that is the Orissa coun- 
try, where there is a very celebrated idol of 
one of the gods, namely, Yishnoo, of whom 
I gave you some account in my first letter. It 
is called Juggernaut, of whom I will give you 
some particular description hereafter. My 
reason for referring to Yishnoo now is to tell 
you about a man who was once a follower of 
this god, but who forsook his worship after 
he had learned something of the Gospel and 
become a Christian. I received the account 
of him from my friend Mr. Wilkinson, of the 
Orissa Mission. Several years ago, Mr. Lacey, 
who was also a member of that mission, was 
on a journey. On one occasion he made an 
encampment not far from a native village. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 18 

ISTiglit came on, and in the midst of tlie dark- 
ness lie heard a passer-bj siaging one of the 
songs of the "Jewel Mine of Salvation." He 
hailed him, and inquired where he had learned 
it. He told him that he had learned it from 
a tract while on a pilgrimage to Juggernaut. 
As Mr. Lacey found him to be an interesting 
inquirer, he invited him to visit his station at 
Cuttack, which you will find on your map. 
This he did, and after having received suitable 
instruction, he resolved to forsake all and fol- 
low Christ. This resolution, through grace, 
he was enabled to carry into execution. 

The person of whom I am now speaking 
was a Brahmin, or priest. After having read 
the tracts which he received at Juggernaut, 
his faith in idolatry began to be shaken. He 
was troubled ; and in order to rid himself of 
his burdened mind, he determined to make 
another piLgrunage to that bloody city, for the 
purpose of testing the divinity of the idol. 
He came to the conclusion that if he were a 
god, he would answer the petition which he 
would make of him to this effect, namely, that 
he would reveal himself to him by a vision or 
dream, or by an audible voice. After he 
2 



14 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

reached Juggernaut, lie spent the first day in 
singing praises to the idol, with the expecta- 
tion that he would during the night receive an 
answer to his petition. But no answer came. 
The next day he spent in reviling the idol, 
thinking that if he could provoke him to 
show his anger, he would obtain a proof of 
his divinity in this way. But he found that 
the god was not to be provoked. On the 
third day he went to the temple for the last 
time, and addressed the idol as follows : "I 
have praised you and I have cursed you, but 
you have neither answered me by a blessing 
nor a curse. Had I been struck down with the 
cholera, I might have beheved that you are a 
god ; but you can do neither good nor harm ;" 
and stepping behind him, he said to him, 
"ISTow, if you are a god, show me," and 
thrusting a spear he had in his hand into his 
back, he said, " Take that ; " and after having 
given him a second and a third thrust without 
seeing any evil result, he left the temple, de- 
claring that he would never worship him 
again. From that tune he became a worship- 
per of the true Grod. He was ordained to the 
Grospel ministry many years ago, and to this 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 15 

day ranks as one of the most powerful preach.- 
ers of tlie Gospel. 

Do you, my dear children, ever give any 
money to buy tracts and the Bible for the 
heathen ? Then it may be that through your 
instrumentality souls may be converted, as the 
Brahmin above mentioned was conv erted by 
reading a tract, or as Eaamee, of our Madras 
Mission, (of whom I will tell you further by 
and by,) was converted by reading a gospel of 
John. Should this be the case, how happy 
will you be in the day of judgment, if you 
see this and that individual pointing to you, 
and hear them saying: There stands the 
friend who, by contributing some of his money 
to buy me a tract — a gospll, has, through the 
Holy Spirit, been the means of my salvation, 
and without whose contribution I must have 
been lost for ever ! 



16 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBER III. 

My Dear Children" : In my first letter I 
mentioned tliat some of the gods whom the 
Hindoos worship are partly in the shape of 
beasts, and partly in the shape of men. Pul- 
liar, or Gunesha, or Gunputty, is a god of this 
description. If you have seen my little book 
about the heathen, published by the American 
Tract Society, entitled, *' Tales for Little 
Readers," you have seen the picture of this 
god. This is the god which was once wor- 
shipped by Raama, of whom I promised in my 
last letter to tell you some interesting particu- 
lars. After his conversion, through the means 
of a gospel of John, he of course would not 
want his idol any more ; so he let me have it. 
I will tell you how he used to worship it, and 
after I have told you, I want you to ask your- 
selves whether you spend as much time in 
worshipping your Saviour as he spent in wor- 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 17 

sMpping Ms idol. He was in the liabit of 
worshipping it every day. In the morning he 
would get np and bathe his own body; for he 
considered his idol too holy to be touched until 
he had washed himself. After he had bathed, 
he would in the first place bathe his image. 
In the second place, he would anoint it with 
oil. In the third place, he would daub it with 
holy ashes, which all the followers of the god 
Pulliar rub on their foreheads, and on their 
breasts, and on their arms. In the fourth 
place, he would perfume it with sandal- wood, 
to make it smell sweetly. In the fifth place, 
he used to put flowers around it. In the sixth 
place, he would put betel and arikenut before 
the god, to chew. The people of this country 
chew betel and arikenut, just as many people 
in America chew tobacco. But why would 
he put betel and arikenu.t before the god to 
chew ? Could the god eat it ? No. Then 
why did he put it before it ? Just as the little 
girls in America, in their play, set something 
to eat before their dolls, so he would set those 
things before his god, and, as it were, play with 
them. In the seventh place, he would burn 
camphor before the idol, and repeat the holy 
2* 



18 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

muntrmns, or prayers, thougli lie knew noth- 
ing more about the meaning of them than a 
parrot knows what it says when it repeats the 
words which it has been tanght. 

How thankful jou ought to be, my dear 
children, that you were born in a land where 
you have parents to teach you prayers of 
which you know the meaning. When your 
mothers taught you that sweet little prayer — 

" Now I lay me down to sleep, 
I pray the Lord my soul to keep ; 
If I should die before I wake, 
I pray the Lord my soul to take ; 
And this I ask for Jesus' sake." 

you understood it. But the poor heathen, as 
I before said, know nothing of the meaning of 
the muntrums which they are taught. Let 
me mention some of these muntrums : 

Om kungkumapatheiya numma. Om che- 
vaiya numma. Om chavoom chadavarna- 
pavoiya numma. Om lymnkilleum chavoom. 
Chavoom killeum lyum. Yuntade savunta- 
deiya nununa. Intedaiya numma. Eyama- 
daiya numma. Yodunaiya numma. Kupay- 
diya numma. 

On every Friday, in addition to a repeated 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



19 



performance of tlie ceremonies wHcL. I liave 
been now describing, Kaama nsed to boil rice 
and curr J, and make an offering of it to his 
idol. Now, as I before said, I want you, my 
dear children, to tell me whether you spend 
as much time in worshipping your Saviour as 
he spent in worshipping his idol. 



20 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE IV. 

My Deae Childeen : From wliat I liave 
previously told yon, you will not be surprised 
to liear that tlie Hindoos worsMp almost every 
prominent thing in creation. They worship 
the ape, the tiger, the elephant, the horse, the 
ox, the stag, the sheep, the hog, the dog, the 
cat, the rat, the peacock, the eagle, the cock, 
the hawk, the serpent, the lizard, the tortoise, 
fishes, and even insects. I will tell you for 
the present only of the worship of the serpent. 

Of all the dangerous creatures found in India, 
there are none that occasion so many deaths 
as serpents. The people are very much ex- 
posed to their bites, especially at nights, when 
they are walking. They tread upon them; 
and as they do not generally wear shoes, the 
snakes turn over their heads, and strike their 
fangs into those parts of the feet which -are 
nearest to the place where the pressure is made 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 21 

upon their bodies. Sometimes tHeir bite is 
followed witb instant deatb. The Cobra Ca- 
pello is one of the most common snakes 
and one of tbe most poisonous. It is said 
tbat it bas a thousand beads, one of wbicb 
holds up the earth. It bas a peculiar mark 
on its back, just behind the head. This mark 
very much resembles a pair of spectacles with- 
out handles. If you should go near it, it 
would raise up the fore-part of its body for 
about six inches, widen out its neck, so as to 
be about double its common width, and pre- 
pare to strike you. The reason why the Hin- 
doos offer sacrifices and adoration to it above 
aU the other serpents is, because it is so fre- 
quently met with, and is so much dreaded. 

In order to induce the people to worship 
this dangerous enemy, the Hindoos have filled 
their books with tales concerning it. Figures 
of it are often to be seen in the temples and 
on other buildmgs. They seek out their holes, 
which are generally to be found in the hillocks 
of earth which are thrown up by the white 
ants ; and when they find one, they go from 
time to time, and offer milk, plantains, and 
such other good things to it. 



22 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

Tlie Hindoos liave eigliteen annual festivals. 
One of these festivals is observed for tlie pur- 
pose of worsMpping tMs serpent. Temples in 
many places are erected to it, of wMcli tliere 
is one of great celebrity in Mysore. When 
the festival occurs at this temple, great crowds 
of people come together to offer sacrifices to 
the creeping gods in this sacred place. Many 
serpents, both of the Cobra Capello and other 
kinds, hve within it, in holes made especially 
for them. They are kept and well fed by the 
Brahmins, with milk, butter, and plantains. 
By these means they become very numerous, 
and may be seen swarming from every crevice 
in the temple. To injure or to kill one would 
be considered a great crime. 

Many of the natives call the Cobra Capello, 
nulla paampu — ^that is, good snake ; they are 
afraid to call it a bad snake, lest it might in- 
jure them. The following is the prayer which 
is offered before the image of this snake : " 
divine Cobra! preserve and sustain us. 
Sheoh! partake of these offerings, and be gra- 
cious unto us." 

Can you think of any thing, my dear child- 
ren, more dishonoring to a holy Grod than 



LETTERS TO CHILDEEN. 23 

siLcli worsliip? And wliat liave you ever 
done to prevent it ? Have you every morn- 
ing and evening prayed that tlie Gospel miglit 
be sent to tMs people? Did you ever give 
any money to send it to tliem ? Did you ever 
tHnk wlietlier it may not be your duty by 
and by to come to tbem to tell tbem of tbis 
G-ospel — ^to come to tbem as missionaries ? 



24 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE Y. 

My Dear Children : India is full of 
temples, as it is of idols. One is to be found 
in every large village. They are also to be 
found in out-of tbe-way places, distant from 
villages — ^in woods, on banks, and in the midst 
of rivers ; but, above all, on mountains and 
steep rocks. 

The practice of building temples on moun- 
tains, says the Abbe De Bois, is very ancient. 
The Israelites were accustomed to choose a 
mountain when they offered up their sacrifices 
to the Lord. Solomon, before the building of 
the Temple, chose Mount Gribeon on which to 
offer his burnt-offerings ; and when the ten 
tribes separated themselves, in the reign of 
Jeroboam, they built their altars on the moun- 
tain of Samaria. This practice may have 
come from the circumstance that ISToah offered 
to God the first sacrifice of thanks on one of 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 25 

the Mgliest mountains of Armenia. Besides 
tlie temples of tlie idols, there are various ob- 
jects of worship made of earth and stone. 
Some of the idols are carved ; some consist 
merely of the rough stone. These are to be 
seen on the high roads, at the entrance into 
villages, and, above all, under lofty trees. 
Some of them are covered; but generally 
they are exposed to the open air. 

You will read in Genesis 28 : 18, that 
Jacob, after his dream, rose up early in the 
morning, and took the stone that he had used 
for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and 
poured oil on the top of it. "Whether it has 
happened from this circumstance or not that 
the heathen universally pour oil over their 
idols, I can not tell ; all I know is that they do 
it. 'No idol can become an object of worship 
until a Brahmin has said his muntrums, or 
prayers, for the purpose of bringing down the 
god to live, as it is said he does, in the image, 
and until he has drenched it v/ith oil and liquid 
butter. 

The idols in the great temples are clothed 
with rich garments, and adorned with very 
costly j ewels. These j ewels are enriched with 



26 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

precious stones, ■wMcli make tliein very valu- 
able. Sacrifices are constantly made to these 
idols, consisting of boiled rice, flowers, fruits, 
and so forth; but above all, of lamps, of 
wMcb many thousands are sometimes seen 
burning in the temple. They feed them with 
butter, in preference to oil. 

The priests of the temples offer up sacrifices 
twice every day, morning and evening. They 
begin their ceremony by washing the idol. 
The water which they use is brought from a 
river or tank. Every priest who offers up 
sacrifices must have several lighted lamps with 
a bell, which he holds in his left hand, while 
with his right hand he makes an offering to 
the idol, adorns it with flowers, rubs its fore- 
head and various parts of its body with sandal- 
wood and holy ashes. "While all this is going 
on, the priest is alone in the temple, the door 
of which he closes. The unholy multitude 
remain without, silently waiting until he has 
done. "What he does they can not know, only 
heariag the sound of the bell. "When he has 
done, he comes out and distributes among the 
people a part of the things which have been 
offered to the idol. These are considered as 



LETTERS TO CHILDEEN. 27 

holj, and if rice or fruit, it is immediately 
eaten ; if flowers, they put tliem in their tur- 
bans, and the girls entwine them in their hair. 

ISText to the priests, the most important 
persons in the temple are the dancing-girls. 
These are persons of the vilest character. 
They perform their religious exercises in the 
temple twice a day. They also assist at the 
public ceremonies, and dance, and sing the 
most abominable and filthy songs. 

The next order of persons employed in the 
temples are players on "musical instruments. 
Every temple of note has a band of these 
musicians, who, as well as the dancers, are 
obliged to attend in the temple twice a day. 
Their band generally consists of wind instru- 
ments, resembling clarionets and hautboys, to 
which they add cymbals and drums. They 
have a base produced by blowing into a kind 
of tube, widened below and which gives an 
uninterrupted sound. Part of the musicians 
sing hymns in honor of their gods. 

The expenses of the temples are borne by 
the voluntary offerings of the people, consist- 
ing of money, jewels, cattle, provisions, and 
other articles. In order to induce them to 



28 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

make sucli offerings, the Brahmins sometimes 
make use of great deception. Sometimes they 
will put their idols in irons, chaining their 
hands and feet. They exhibit them in this 
sad condition, declaring that they have been 
brought into it by creditors, from whom their 
gods had to borrow money in times of trouble, 
to supply their wants. They declare that 
these creditors refuse to set the gods at liberty 
until the money with interest is paid. The 
people, seeing the deplorable condition into 
which they have been brought, come forward 
and pay off the debt, which, when done, the 
chains are soon taken off, and the god is set 
at liberty. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN-. 29 



ISrUMBEE YI. 

My Dear Children: Another way i- 
"wMch. tlie Brahmins sometimes deceive the 
people, is as follows : They say that the god 
is afflicted with some dreadful disease, brought 
on by the distress which he has had because 
the people do not worship him as much as 
they should. In such cases, the idol is some- 
times placed at the door of the temple, when 
they rub his forehead and temples with various 
kinds of medicine. They also set before him 
all sorts of medicines, pretending in this way, 
to do all they can to cure him. But as all 
their efforts to cure him prove to be vain, and 
the disease becomes worse, the Brahmins send 
out persons to tell the sad news. The people, 
believing the report, hasten to bring in theii* 
gifts and offerings. The god, on beholding 
such proofs of their attachment to him, feels 
himself cured of his disease, and immediately 
returns to his throne within the temple. 
3^ 



30 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

The Braliinins use anotlier kind of deception 
in order to procure offerings for tlie temples. 
Tliey declare tliat tlieir gods are angry with 
certain individuals who have offended them, 
and that they have sent some evil spirit or 
devil to take possession of their bodies, and 
torment them. Accordingly, persons appear 
wandering about in different parts of the 
country, showing by their dreadful convul- 
sions, their writhings and twistings, every 
symptom of being possessed of the devil. The 
people who see them are filled with dismay, 
and fall down before them, and offer their gifts 
and sacrifices, that they may not injure them. 
"Whatever they ask, they bring. They give 
them to eat and drink abundantly. When they 
leave them, they accompany them with instrT> 
ments of music till they arrive at some other 
place, where they practise the same deception. 
, At every large temple, there is at least every 
year one grand procession. The idol is brought 
out from its inclosure, and placed on a great 
car or chariot, prepared for this express pur- 
pose. This stands upon four wheels of great 
strength, not made like ours, of spokes,, with a 
rim, but of three or four pieces of thick, solid 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 31 

timber, rounded and fitted to eacli other. It 
is sometimes forty or fifty feet Mgh, having 
caryed npon it images of a most abominable 
natnre. I must not tell you any thing about 
them. The car, when finished, presents some- 
what the shape of a pyramid. On the day of 
the procession it is adorned with painted cloth, 
garlands of flowers, green shrubbery, and pre- 
cious stuffs. The idol is placed in the centre, 
loaded with jewels, etc., to attract the attention 
of the people. 

Having fastened ropes to this immense car, 
six or seven or eight or nine hundred or a 
thousand people catch hold of them, and slowly 
drag it along, accompanied with the awful 
roaring of their voices. At certain periods 
they stop, at which the immense crowds col- 
lected from all parts of the country set up one 
universal shout, or rather yell. This, with the 
sound of their instruments and numerous 
drums, produces much uproar and confusion. 
Sometimes the weighty car comes to a stand, 
from the dampness of the ground, or in nar- 
row streets, when the tumult and noise are 
redoubled. 

One of the principal idols of the heathen of 



32 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

India is named Juggernaut, tlie meaning of 
wliicli is, "tlie Lord of tlie world." At Orissa, 
tliis idol is very celebrated. It is supposed 
tliat more than a million of people go every 
year to worship it. Some of these measure 
the whole distance of their journey with their 
bodies lying on the ground, as a carpenter 
lays his rule on a board, over and over again, 
until he gets the length of it. The aged and 
the sick undertake it as a remedy for all evils. 
Thousands die on their way to and from the 
temple. For many miles around it the roads 
are strewed with the bones and skulls of the 
poor pilgrims. Dogs, jackals, and vultures 
live on their bodies ; especially do the pilgrims 
die in large numbers on their way from the 
temple. Their route may be traced by the 
bones, which lie where the jackals and vultures 
leave them, after eating their flesh. The coun- 
try near the temple seems as if it had been 
visited by pestilence and famine ; dead bodies 
are seen in every direction ! When Jugger- 
naut is placed on his car, and drawn around 
the temple, poor deluded pilgrims throw them- 
selves under the wheels, and are crushed to 
death. Not long since, -Q-Ye or six persons 







CAR OF JUGGERNAUT. Page 32. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 



thus threw themselves under the wheels^ and 
were killed. The god is said to smile when 
this is done. 

Near the city of Juggernaut are to be seen 
crowds of deluded creatures, some remaining 
all the day with their heads on the ground and 
their feet in the air; some cram their eyes 
with mud, and their mouths with straw; others 
are extended in a pond of water ; one has his 
foot tied to his neck ; another has a pot of fire 
on his breast, or is enveloped in a network of 
ropes. 

Thus,, my dear children, you see what suffer- 
ings the poor heathen are willing to undergo 
with the hope of obtaining heaven ; a hope 
which I need hardly tell you, is utterly vain. 
Grod requires no such sufferings. All which 
he requires of you is, that you should repent, 
and accept of Christ as your Saviour. And 
have you done these things? If not, let me 
entreat you to do so without delay. Death 
and eternity are drawing near, and remember 
that if you are once lost, you are lost for ever. 
It is my earnest desire to meet you all in 
heaven. Who is there among you that will 
refuse to meet me there ? 



3l 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



ISrUMBEE YII. 

My Dear Childeen: In one of tliose 
seasons when Brahm was awake, it is said by 
tlie Hindoos tliat all the atoms wMcli compose 
tlie earth, the snn, the moon, and stars, were 
drawn from his essence. At first, these atoms 
were all in disorder. For the purpose of re- 
ducing them to order, Brahm created what is 
called the great mundane egg. Into this egg 
he himself entered, u.nder the form of Brumha, 
taking with him all these atoms. After re- 
maining in this egg four thousand three hun- 
dred millions of years, to arrange these atoms, 
he burst its shell, and came out with a thou- 
sand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand 
arms. With him he brought out aU these 
harmonious atoms which, when separated, 
produced this beautiful universe which we 
see above and around us. 

The universe, as it came from the mundane 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 35 

egg, is generally divided into fourteen worlds 
— seven inferior or lower worlds, and seven 
superior or upper worlds. The seven lower 
worlds are filled with all kinds of wicked and 
loathsome creatures. Our earth, which is the 
first of the upper worlds, it is said, is flat. 
That part of it which is inhabited consists of 
seven circular islands or continents, each of 
which is surrounded by a different ocean. 
The island in the centre, where we dwell, is 
surrounded by a sea of salt water ; the second 
island is surrounded by a sea of sugar-cane 
juice ; the third island is surrounded by a sea 
of spirituous liquors ; the fourth is surround- 
ed by a sea of clarified butter; the fifth is 
surrounded by a sea of sour curds ; the sixth 
is surrounded by a sea of milk ; the seventh 
is surrounded by a sea of sweet water. 

In all the worlds above ours are mansions 
in which the gods reside. In the third is the 
heaven of India. This is the heaven to 
which it is said the widow goes, after she has 
burned herself to death on the funeral pile of 
her husband. Its palaces are of the purest 
gold ; and such are the quantities of diamonds, 
and jasper, and sapphire, and emerald, and aU 



36 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

manner of precious stones there, that it sMnes 
with, a brightness superior to that of twelve 
thousand suns. Its streets are of the clearest 
crystal, fringed with gold. In the seventh, or 
the highest of the upper worlds, is the heaven 
where Brumha chiefly resides. This far ex- 
ceeds all the other heavens in point of beauty. 
In the inferior worlds it is said that there 
are one hundred thousand hells. These are 
provided for such as have been great crimi- 
nals. The Hindoos say that those who have 
not been very wicked can make an atonement 
for their sins in this world. Should they 
neglect to do this, they must suffer for it in 
another birth. They believe in what is called 
the 'transmigration of souls, or the passing of 
the soul after death into another body. The 
soul must suffer in the next birth, if not puri- 
iied in this. Hence it is asserted that if a 
man be a stealer of gold from a Brahmin, he 
is doomed to have whitlows on his nails ; if a 
drinker of spirits, black teeth ; if a false de- 
tractor, fetid breath ; if a stealer of grain, the 
defect of some limb ; if a stealer of clothes, 
leprosy; if a horse-stealer, lameness; if a 
stealer of a lamp, total blindness. If he steals 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 37 



grain in tlie liusk, lie will be born a rat ; if 
yellow mixed metal, a gander; if money, a 
great stinging gnat ; if fruit, an ape ; if tlie 
property of a priest, a croeodile. 

Those persons whose sins are too great to 
be forgiven in this world,, mnst be sent to one 
of the hells to which I have alluded. Weep- 
ing, wailing, shrieking, they are dragged to 
the palace of Tama, the king of those doleful 
regions. On arriving there, they behold him 
clothed with terror, two hundred and forty 
miles in height, his eyes as large as a lake of 
water, his voice as loud as thunder, the hairs 
of his body as long as palm-trees, a flame of 
fire proceeding from his mouth, the noise of 
his breath like the roaring of a tempest, and 
in his right hand a terrific iron club. If what 
I have now been saying about Yama were 
true, what a frightful creature would he be, 
and how would you dread to fall into the 
hands of such a being ! But frightful as the 
character of Yama would be if he had an ex- 
istence, it could not be more so than that of 
the great adversary, the Devil, whom we know 
to eKist, and who is emphatically named Apoll- 
yon, or the destroyer. He is the head or 
4 



38 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

king of tliat awful prison of despair, where 
those who shall finally be lost are to weep and 
wail and gnash their teeth for ever; and 
doubtless he will be their tormentor there, as 
he is their destroyer here. Oh ! if those who 
are now taken captive by him at his will, only 
knew what is before them, surely they would 
not be so ready to serve him : wonld they eat 
honey if they knew that poison was in it? 
May it be your lot, my dear children, never 
to fall into the hands of such a dreadful 
being. 

I want to ask you a question just in this 
place. It is. Have you never had any fears 
lest this great adversary of whom I have been 
speaking — ^this great roaring Hon, who goeth 
about seeking whom he may devour — may 
be the means of destroying you? If you 
have not, I feel deeply alarmed on your ac- 
count. You are mad, my dear children, if 
you do not entertain such fears, so long as 
your many sins are not forgiven. I say your 
many sins, for they have been many, very 
many. Have you never been angry, and per- 
haps spoken bad words in your anger ? Heve 
you not sometimes quarrelled with your bro- 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 39 

thers or sisters, or others, and perhaps lifted 
your hands to strike them ? When playing 
with them, have you never shown any marks 
of selfishness, by wishing to take possession of 
their playthings ? and when you were not al- 
lowed to have them, did you never show your 
resentment by leaving them, and by your re- 
fusal any longer to be in their company ? 
Have you never murmured when you have 
been punished for your faults ? and when you 
were quite young, and when you were denied 
what it would have been wrong for you to 
have, did you not sometimes throw yourselves 
down on the floor, and show what a wicked 
temper you had by screaming and kicking ? 
And have you never manifested a proud and 
peevish spirit? And have you never dis- 
obeyed your parents ? Has your conduct not 
sometimes been like that of Ananias and Sap- 
phira ? Have you not told untruths ? And 
has your conduct never been ■ like that of 
Achan, whose history is mentioned in the 
seventh chapter of Joshua ? Did you never 
stretch out your hands, and take and eat some 
forbidden fruit, or other things which you had 
been told not to touch? But I have not yet 



40 



BETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



told you of the greatest of all the sins which 
jou have ever ' committed ; and this is your 
refusal to love the Saviour. He died to save 
sinners ; but up to this day you have said by 
your conduct, if not by you.r words, "We will 
not come to him that we may be saved. 
Every act of your lives has been against him, 
for you never did one thing with the view to 
glorify him. Consequently, every, act of your 
lives has been sin. Yes, many, many have 
been your sins. They have been piled up 
and become, as it were, great mountains ; and 
well will it be if these mountains do not fall 
upon you and crush you for ever. 

Perhaps, my dear children, you will say 
that I am speaking harshly; but I am not 
sensible that I am doing so. All that I wish 
is, to tell you plainly of the awful nature of 
your condition. Can I cry out, Peace, peace, 
when there is no peace? But I have not yet 
done. I have told you that you are great'sin- 
ners. I must further tell you, that if you ex- 
pect to escape the woes and miseries of the 
world to come, you must repent. Eepentance 
is the first act which you have to perform. 
And what does the word repentance mean ? 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 41 

It means a cliange of roind — a turning from 
sin to holiness. This is effected through the 
agency of the Holy Spirit. It is called the 
new birth, a birth of holiness, to distinguish 
it from the old birth, a birth of sin. By na- 
ture, we love sin and hate God. When we 
are born again, we hate sin and love God. 
The change is as marked as would be the 
change in a fish if it were enabled to live on 
the shore, or as marked as would be the change 
in a man if he were enabled to live under wa- 
ter. Now, as I just said, you must have this 
change produced in you by the Holy Spirit, 
or you must be lost. But there is something 
else for you to do, if you would be saved. 
You must believe in Christ. By behef in 
Christ I mean a simple trust or confidence in 
him as the Saviour of sinners, and a reliance 
on his merits alone for your salvation. This, 
of course, includes in it a giving up of the 
world as your portion, and an uncond^ional ; 
and hearty surrender of yourselves and of 
your all to him. I wish, my dear children, to 
make one request of you, and this is that you 
will commit to memory the ninth verse of the 
tenth chapter of Eomans. It, is: "If thou 
4*' 



42 LETTERS TO CHILDREST. 

shalt confess with, tliy mouth, the Lord Jesus, 
and shalt believe in thj heart that Grod hath 
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." 
But I must stop. I might go on with the ac- 
count of the inferior worlds, to which. I a few 
minutes ago directed your attention. My 
mind, however, has become so much impressed 
with the subject which, has last been before us 
— th.e subject of your own salvation — ^that I 
can not think of saying any thing more in this 
letter. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 43 



NUMBEEYIII. 

My Dear Children : In my last letter, I 
gave you an account of those wliom tlie Hin- 
doos say must be sent to the regions of whicli 
Yama is king. Being summoned before him, 
sentence is passed, and the wretched beings 
are doomed to receive punishment according 
to the nature of their crimes. Some are made 
to tread on burning sands, or sharp-edged 
stones. Others are rolled among thorns and 
spikes and putrefied flesh. Others are dragged 
along the roughest places by cords passed 
through the tender parts of the body. Some 
are attacked by jackals, tigers, and elephants. 
Others are pierced with arrows, beaten with 
clubs, pricked with needles, seared with hot 
irons, and tormented by flies and wasps. Some 
are plunged into pans of liquid fire or boiling 
oil. Others are dashed from lofty trees, many 
hundred miles high. 



m 



44 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



The torment of these hells does not continue 
for ever. After cruninals have been punished 
for a longer or shorter time, their souls return 
to the earth again in the bodies of men. Here 
they may perform such good acts as may raise 
them to one of the heavens of the gods; 
or commit crimes which may be the means 
of their being sent again to the abodes of 
misery. 

Things will go on in this way until the 
universe comes to an end, when every thing 
is to disappear and to be swallowed up in 
Brahm. 

The Hindoos say that it is now more than 
one hundred and fifty billions of years since 
the world was created. After it has continued 
for one hundred and fifty billions of years 
more, it is to come to an end. Then Brumha 
is to die, and to be swallowed up, with the 
universe, in the sole existing Brahm. 

By what you have now read, you will learn 
that the Hindoos expect by their sufferings to 
make an atonement for their sins. But there 
is no atonement for sin except through the 
blood of Jesus Christ. We must come as lost 
sinners to our Heavenly Eather, confess our 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 45 

transgressions to liim, and plead for his forgive- 
ness, only throngli tlie sufferings and death 
wMcli Christ endured. Mj dear children, have 
you done this ? K not, do it speedily, or the 
regions of the lost must soon be your everlast- 
ing abode. 



46 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBBE IX. 

My Deae Childeen: In my last letter, I 
told jou something about tlie heaven of India ; 
this being the place where the Hindoos say 
that widows go after having burnt themselves 
to death on the funeral piles of their husbands. 
I must tell you more particularly about the 
burning of these widows. The sacred books 
of the Hindoos encourage this burning. They 
declare that if a woman will ascend the faneraJ 
pile and sacrifice her life there, not only her 
own sins, but the sins of her husband, though 
he may have been a murderer, shall be for- 
given, and that they shall both go to heaven 
— ^the heaven of India. This cruel ceremony, 
which is called the Suttee, has been abohshed 
in the British dominions of India, but is, I 
fear, practised to an awful extent in some of 
the native Eajah's territories. Even while 
you are reading these lines, perhaps some poor 





HINDOO WIDOW, CARRIED IN A PALANQUIN TO THE 
FUNERAL PILE. Page 47. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 47 



widow is stretclied on tlie pile witli the dead 
body of her husband, and will be in eternity 
in a very few moments. I will mention a few 
instances of the bnrning of widows, that you es- 
pecially, my dear httle girls, may be thankful 
that you were not born in this dark land. The 
first to which I would call your attention took 
place in the village of Tanjore. 

A merchant having died, his wife, who was 
about thhty years old, determined to bum 
herself with his corpse. The news of what 
she was going to do spread rapidly in every 
direction, and large numbers of people col- 
lected to witness the burning. After she was 
adorned with jewels and dressed in her best 
clothing, and after her body was tinged with 
the yellow infusion of sandal- wood and saffron, 
bearers arrived to bear away the corpse, with 
the wretched woman. The body of the man 
was placed on a car, ornamented with costly 
stuffs, flowers, etc. There he was seated like 
a liviug man, elegantly decorated with all his 
jewels, and clothed in rich attire. 

The corpse being carried first, the wife fol- 
lowed in a rich palanquin. As she went along, 
the surrounding multitudes of people stretched 



48 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

out their hands towards her, to show how 
much they admired her conduct. The women 
in particular went up to her, apparently de- 
siring to receive her blessing, or, at least, that 
she would pronounce over them some pleasing 
word. She tried to satisfy them all, saying to 
one that she would long continue to enjoy her 
worldly happiness, and to another that she 
would be the mother of many beautiful child- 
ren. Another was informed that she would 
arrive at great honor in the world. These ajid 
similar expressions she made to all who came 
near her, and they departed with the full be- 
lief that they would enjoy all the blessings of 
which she had spoken. She also distributed 
among them some betel leaves, which they 
gladly received as relics, or something of bless- 
ed influence. 

During the whole procession, which was 
very long, her countenance was serene and 
even cheerfid, until they came to the pile on 
which she was to die. Then she suddenly 
became pensive. She no longer attended to 
what was passing around her. Her looks were 
wildly fixed upon the pile ; her face grew pale, 
she. trembled with fear, and seemed ready to 
faint away. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 40 

The Bralimins wlio took the lead in this 
ceremony, with her relatives, seeing her sad 
condition, ran to her and endeavored to re- 
store her spirits ; but she seemed not to know 
what they said, and answered not a word. 

•They made her quit the palanqnin, and her 
nearest relatives took her to a pond of water, 
which was near the pile, where they washed 
her. They then attended her to the pile, on 
which the corpse of her husband had already 
been laid. It was surrounded with Brahmins, 
each with a lighted torch in one hand and a 
bowl of melted butter in the other, all ready, 
as soon as the poor victim was placed on the 
pile, to envelope her in fire. 

The relatives, armed with muskets, sabres, 
and other weapons, stood closely around in a 
double hne, for the purpose, it was said, of 
making her afraid if she might wish to draw 
back, or of frightening any body who might 
piij her and endeavor to rescue her. 

At length, the time for firing the pile being 
proclaimed, the young widow was stripped of 
her jewels, and led on towards the pile. She was 
then commanded to walk three times around 
it, two of her nearest relatives supporting her 
5 



50 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

bj the arms. The first round she accomplish- 
ed with tottering steps, but in the second her 
strength forsook her, and she fainted away in 
the arms of those who were holding her. They 
were obliged to drag her between them for the 
third round. Then, senseless, she was thrown 
on the corpse of her husband. At that instant 
the multitude made the air to ring with their 
shouts of gladness, while the Brahmins poured 
the butter on the dry wood, and applied the 
torches. Instantly the whole pile was in a 
blaze. 

As soon as the flames began to rage, the 
poor woman, now in the midst of them, was 
called upon by name from all sides ; but, as 
insensible as the corpse upon which she lay, 
she made no answer. She entered eternity, 
suffocated at once, most probably, by the 
flames. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 51 



ISrUMBEE X. 

My Dear Children : In my last letter, I 
gave you an account of tlie burning of a widow 
in Tanjore. If you will look on your map of 
Hindoostan, you will see tliat this place is about 
one hundred and fifty miles from Madras, 
That your minds may be more fully impressed 
with the misery and wretchedness of the hea- 
then, I will transcribe a few more cases of Sut- 
tee. The Eev. Mr. Campbell, when speaking 
of the burning of a widow, says : "I saw her 
pacing her appointed circuits around the pile. 
I saw her ascend the bed of death, and tied to 
the dead body of her husband. I saw her take 
her jewels from her ears, her neck, and the va- 
rious members of her body, and distribute 
them as parting memorials to her friends. I 
saw her son, whom she had nurtured, and 
whom she had nursed, take the torch into his 
hand, and in several places kindle the flame 



52 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

tliat was to consume his mother. I saw the 
servants cut the ropes to let the canopy of fag- 
ots fall upon her head, to crush her, and to 
prevent her escape ; and as the flames ascend- 
ed, and as the pile became one mass of fire, I 
heard the horrid yell and shout of exultation 
from the surroimding multitude, to drown the 
shrieks of that victim in the plaudits of their 
joy. Oh! I thought I was standing on the 
borders of the infernal lake. I wondered that 
the earth did not open her mouth to devour 
the perpetrators of this horrid murder." 

The next instance which I will transcribe is 
a very dreadful one. A young widow, four- 
teen years of age, soon after the death of her 
hu.sband, proceeded to burn herself on the fu- 
neral pile. The pile was prepared by her re- 
lations, and set on fire by her uncle, as she 
had no children to put the fire to it. She sooji 
leaped from the pile, much burned ; but she 
was seized, taken by the hands and feet, and 
thrown back upon it. Again she leaped from 
the burning pile, and running to a well not far 
off, laid herself down in the water-course, bit- 
terly weeping.. A sheet was then brought, 
and she was desired by her uncle to place her- 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



self upon it. Slie refused, saying, tliat lie 
would carry lier again to the fire ; and slie 
would rather quit the family, and live by beg- 
ging, if they would only have mercy upon 
her. At length, on her uncle's swearing by 
the Eiver Ganges, (they say that the Eiver 
Granges is a goddess,) that if she would sit 
down on the cloth he would carry her home, 
she did so ; but was instantly bound up in it, 
carried to the pile, now fiercely burning, and 
again thrown into the flames. The poor crea- 
ture tried once more to save herself, when, at 
the instigation of the rest, a Mohammedan ap- 
proached near enough to reach her with his 
sword, and cutting her through the head, she 
fell backward, and expired. 

Not unfrequently, the sons take a promi- 
nent part in destroying their mothers. This 
will appear from the following case : A Brah- 
min died, and his body was brought to the 
place of burning. His wife was fastened to 
the pile, and the fire was kindled ; but the 
night was dark and rainy. "When the fire be- 
gan to scorch the poor woman, she contrived 
to disentangle herself from the dead body, and, 
creeping from under the pile, hid herself 
5* 



54 LETTERS TO OHILDREIn. 

among some brush-wood. In a little time, it 
was discovered tliat there was bnt one body 
on the pile. The relations immediately took 
the alarm, and searched for the poor wretch. 
The son soon dragged her forth, and insisted 
that she should throw herself on the pile 
again, or drown or hang herself She plead 
for her life at the hands of her own son, and 
declared that she could not embrace so horrid 
a death ; but she pleaded in vain. The son 
urged that he should lose his caste, and that, 
therefore, he would die, or she should. Un- 
able to persuade her to hang or drown herself, 
the son and the others present then tied her 
hands and feet, and threw her on the funeral 
pile, where she quickly perished. 

Instances have occurred where children of 
eight years old have been sacrificed on the fu- 
neral pile. Several years ago, a child of this 
age was burned to death near Calcutta. At 
the time the news arrived of the death of the 
child's husband, she was playing with other 
children at a neighbor's house. Having just 
before been severely chastised by her aunt, 
and having formerly suffered much from her, 
she resolved to burn herself with the dead 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 55 

body, that she might ayoid similar treatment 
in future ; nor could her relations induce her 
to alter her resolution. As soon as she was 
laid upon the pile, she appeared to die — '■ no 
doubt from fear — even before the fire touched 
her. 



56 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE XI. 

My Dear Childeen: I must say a word 
or two mote about tlie Suttee. It sometimes 
happens that many women are burned with a 
single corpse. Several years ago, it is said, no 
less than thirty-seven females were burned 
alive with the remains of a Brahmin of Bag- 
napara. This Brahmin had more than one 
hundred wives. At the first kindling of the 
fire only three of them were present ; but the 
fire was kept burning three days. When one or 
more arrived, the ceremonies were performed, 
and they threw themselves on the blazing fire. 
On the first day three were burned ; on the 
second, fifteen; on the third, nineteen. Among 
them, some were forty years old, and others as 
young as sixteen. Most of these wives had 
seldom seen hhn while living. From one 
family he had married four sisters. 

Since I came to this country, the King of 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 57 

Edur died. On tlie morning of tlie burning 
of Ms bodj, fourteen persons were taken 
down with it, and burned before all tlie assem- 
bled people of Edur. If I remember cor- 
rectly, one of them was a man, probably a 
servant of the king. 

You will be sorry to hear that a widow was 
not long since burned to death with the corpse 
of her husband, even within the bounds of the 
British dominions, where the most stringent 
laws are enacted against this ceremony. It 
occurred at a place near Ahmednuggur. The 
police attempted to interfere, but were driven 
back by the Brahmins, who persisted in their 
murderous determination tni their victim, a 
young woman of fifteen, was totally consumed. 
The case was brought to trial, but how it 
terminated I do not know. "We hope," 
said the Poonah Chronicle^ "that the punish- 
ment of the murderers will be most exem- 
plary." 

And are you not ready, my dear children, 
to exclaim. How wretched is the condition of 
these poor creatures! But what is all this 
wretchedness when compared with the wretch- 
edness which they will have to endure in the 



58 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

world to come ? And how mnch. greater will 
your wretchedness be, my dear children, 
should you -eyentually be lost ! The heathen 
linow not their Master's will ; you know it, 
and if' you do it not, you will be beaten with 
many stripes, while they shall be beaten with 
few stripes. And are you yet out of Christ? 
If so, oh ! let me entreat you to give your 
heart to him unmediately! Eemember that 
death is near, and that if you put off your re- 
pentance, you may die in a state of mind in 
some respects more awful than that in which 
those poor creatures die who are burned on 
the funeral pile. 

. I shall never forget the death-bed scene of a 
young lady whom I attended in the capacity 
of a physician, before I left America. Her 
disease was the consumption. After my at- 
tendance upon her for a month, I perceived 
one morning that death was near. I told her 
that she must die. " Can not I live a month ?" 
she exclaimed. " Can not I live two weeks?" 
After I told her that she could not, such a 
scene of horror followed as I never before 
witnessed ; and may Grod, in his great mercy, 
grant that I may never witness such another. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 59 

At one time slie insisted on being taken from 
her concli, and put upon Iter knees, that site 
might call upon God to have mercy upon her; 
at another she entreated the bystanders not to 
let her sleep, that she might spend every 
breath in pleading for mercy. At one time 
she looked up to me, as if in despair, and said: 
" Doctor, can not you save me ?" Alas ! what 
could I do for the poor creature ? A very af- 
fecting circumstance occurred, which I must 
not omit to mention. She either ordered her 
trunk to be brought to her, and took a ring 
from it, or ordered the ring to be handed to 
her. She then called a young lady to her, 
and proceeded to piit this ring on her finger, 
at the same time saying : " Do not put off your 
repentance, as I have done, till a dying hour!" 
That ring, which is set with red garnet, is now 
in my possession, a sad, sad memento, indeed, 
of days gone by. It was on Thursday morning 
that I told her she must die; on Saturday 
morning, loithout Tioj^e, I fear, she entered 
eternity. "Would that I could carry you to 
her dying bed-side, and would that I could 
show you that mournful countenance which 
remained as a sad monument of the wreck 



60 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

tliat there had. been witMn, until slie was 
screwed up in lier coffin ! Never, never shall 
I forget it. 

Now, very dear children, jon would not 
like to die as I fear this young lady died. 
Well, then, if you would die differently, you 
must live differently •, for you must live for 
Christ, if you die in Christ. And are you 
Christ's ? or are you yet gay and thoughtless — 
as gay and thoughtless as that young lady was 
until laid upon her dying-bed? K you are 
so, and if you continue to remain in this sad 
condition, your season of sorrow will certainly 
come, and it may come when you expect it 
not. As the little insect which flies around 
and around your candle is dazzled with its 
brightness, and feels nothing but pleasure un- 
til it unconsciously strikes the blaze with its 
little wings, and is swallowed up in the flame, 
so you are dazzled with the pleasures of the 
world, thinking nothing of the flames which 
may swallow you up in a moment, and put a 
stop to all your joys for ever. Oh ! that the 
death-bed scenes of Miss Matthews might 
have their becoming effect upon you ! Oh ! 
that the solemn warning which she gave to 



LETTEKS TO CHILDREN. 61 

her young fiiend, not to put off repentance as 
she had done until a dying hour, might con- 
tinue to sound in your ears, until you would 
no longer delay your repentance ! 

My dear chHdren, this young lady, though 
dead, yet speaketh. She speaks to you. She 
calls upon you from the tomb, from the eter- 
nal world, to delay youi: repentance no longer. 
Will you, then, be so mad as to turn a deaf 
ear to this call? Will you ever take another 
sip from the cup of unhallowed pleasure? 
Will you ever direct your little feet to the 
ball-room or other places of sinful amusement? 
Will you hereafter prefer your worldly joys 
to Christ ? Oh ! you must not, you must not ! 
It will not do for you to be lost ! Who, oh ! 
who can lie down in everlasting burnings? 
Who can dwell for ever with devouring 
flames? Can you, my dear children? Ko, 
no; you can not — ^you can not; and yet you 
must, unless you will give up the vain plea- 
sures of the world, and give yourselves to 
Christ. 



62 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



ISTUMBEE XII. 

My Dear Childbek : There are some 
gods wMcli are worshipped only by the lower 
classes of people. The five-faced god is one of 
this kind. He has three eyes in each face. 
Some persons make a clay image of this god 
and worship it. Others worship him before a 
stone placed nnder particular kinds of trees. 
This stone is painted red at the top, and is 
anointed with oil. Offerings of flowers, fruits, 
sweetmeats, fried peas, and so forth, accom- 
pany the worship. In some of the villages, 
several of these shapeless stones are to be seen 
thus anointed, and consecrated to this god. 
The womfen are much terrified at this god, and 
are very much afraid lest their children should 
in their play injure his image. They tell 
them that death will be the consequence, if 
they touch it. 

When children are seized with the disease 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 63 

called epilepsy, it -is supposed that tHs god 
seizes them, and throws them into a state of 
frenzy, until they foam at the mouth. The 
mother asks the supposed evil spirit his name, 
who answers through the child: '^ I am the 
five-faced god. Your child has cast dust on 
my image, kicked me, and is the ring-leader 
of all the children of the village in this wick- 
edness. I will certainly take away his life." 
One of the priestesses of thi^ god — who are 
all old women — ^is now called, who comforts 
the weeping family,' and thus addresses the 
god : " O five-faced god ! I pray thee, restore 
this child. These are thy worshippers. The 
offender is but a child. If thou wilt restore 
the child, the parents will sacrifice a goat to 
thee, and present to thee many offerings." If 
this should fail to render him propitious, they 
take the child before the image, causing it to 
beat its head upon the ground. They also try 
to gain their point by flattering him. If the 
child recovers, believing that the five-faced 
god has cured him, they make their offerings 
to him. 

There is another form of Siva worshipped 
by the lower classes of people. A black stone 



64 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

of any shape is used to represent this god. 
Those who worship him, paint the part de- 
signed as the forehead, and place it nnder a 
tree. Others place the stone in the house, and 
give it silver eyes, anoint it with oil, and wor- 
ship it. The ceremonies connected with his 
worship are like those which are used at the 
festival of the hook-swinging, with the addi- 
tion of blood-sacrifices. The animals sacrificed 
are usually goats. On such occasions, devo- 
tees pass cords through their sides, pierce their 
tongues with irons, walk on the fire, and 
throw themselves on spikes. 

"At two villages," says Mr. "Ward, " Poo- 
sooree and Eayukalee, the worship of this god 
is attended by crowds of people from a dis- 
tance. If a woman's eldest child dies, she 
makes a vow, before witnesses, that she will 
not cut her hair for two years ; at the same 
time declaring that, after this time, she will go 
to one of these villages, cut off her hair and 
present an offering to the god, provided he 
will preserve her second child. In order to 
obtain a blessing, women sometimes put on 
wet clothes, place an earthen pot full of burn- 
ing coals upon a cloth on their heads, and, 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 65 

taking a cMld up in their arms, go and sit in 
a supplicating posture before hini. At tlie 
same time incense is offered up. India pitch 
is thrown into the pan of coals." 

There are other forms of this god, worship- 
ped much in the same manner ; but of which 
I need not make mention. 

The goddess Sheetula is worshipped by the 
Hindoo females when their families are afflict- 
ed with the itch; and the god Ghetoo — a 
black boiling pot — is worshipped to remove 
the scurvy, or any kind of blotches on the 
skin. 



LETTERS TO CHILDHEN. 



NUMBEE XIII. 

My Dear Childrek : The Hindoos, says 
Mr. "Ward, worsliip tlie " Host of Heaven." 
The planets, the constellations, the signs of 
the zodiac, and the stars in general, are all 
considered as gods, and worshipped as such. 
The constellations are worshipped separately, 
at the birth of children, as well as at the anni- 
versaries of their birth, till the time of death. 

Those Hindoos, whose births have taken 
place under a supposed evil planet, are often 
filled with melancholy. Some abandon them- 
selves to despair, careless as to what may hap- 
pen to them. 

At the great festivals a small offering is 
presented to all the planets at once. On other 
occasions they are never worshipped together. 
They are frequently worshipped separately by 
the sick and unfortunate, who suppose them- 
selves to be under the baneful influence of 



LETTERS TO CHILD^REN. 67 

some one of tliem. At these times the nine 
planets are worshipped one after the other in 
regular succession. 

The sun is worshipped as one of the planets. 
If a person is born under him, he will possess 
an anxious mind, be subject to disease and 
other sufferings, be an exile, and endure much 
sorrow from the loss of his wife, children, and 
property. 

The image of the moon is that of a white 
man drawn by ten horses, or sitting on the 
water-lily. With his right hand he is giving 
a blessing ; in the other he holds a club. All 
the Hindoo ceremonies are regulated by the 
rising or setting, the waxing or the waning of 
the moon. If a person be bom under it, he 
will have many friends, will possess elephants, 
horses, and palanquins, will be honorable and 
powerful, will have excellent food, etc. 

The god Mars is painted red. He rides on 
a sheep, wears a red necklace, and garments 
of the same color. He has four arms. If a 
person be born under him, he will be full of 
anxious thoughts, be wounded and imprisoned, 
be oppressed with fear from robbers and fire, 
and will lose his lands, trees, and good name. 



68 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

The god Mercury lias four arms. He ridas 
on a lion, and lias a placid countenance. He 
wears yellow garments. If a person be born 
under tMs planet, he will be very fortunate ; 
and, among other things, obtain an excellent 
wife. . 

The image of Jupiter is painted yellow. He 
sits on a water-lily. He has four arms. In 
one he holds a bead-roll, in another an alms- 
dish, in another a club, and with the fourth he 
is bestowing a blessing. If a person be born 
under this planet, he will be endowed with an 
amiable disposition, possess palaces, gardens, 
lands, and be rich in money. All his wishes 
will be gratified. 

The god Venus is dressed in white, and sits 
on a water-lily. If a person be born under 
this planet, he will have the faculty of know- 
ing things past, present, and future. He will 
have many wives, have a kingly umbrella, 
and kings will worship him. 

The god Saturn is dressed in black. He 
rides on a vulture, and has four arms. All 
the Hindoos dread the supposed bad influence 
of this god, and perform a number of cere- 
monies to appease him. Many stories are told 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 69 

of him, such as that of burning off the god 
Pulhar's head ; his being the cause of bad har- 
vests, etc. If a person be born under this 
planet, he will be slandered, his riches will be 
dissipated, his son, wife, and friends destroyed. 
He will also live at variance with others, and 
endure much suffering. At the time of the 
appearance of this planet, some of the Hin- 
doos, if absent from home, will return through 
fear of him ; others forsake their business lest 
they should meet with misfortunes. 

But I have told you enough, my dear child- 
ren — enough, perhaps, to make you exclaim, 
How foolish is the idea that a person can be 
born under Si planet, and that his destinies are 
shaped by such a birth ! But you must re- 
member that it is only in consequence of the 
advantages which you enjoy, that you are en- 
abled to view this belief in its proper light. All 
is darkness where the religion of the blessed 
Jesus does not shine. Oh ! if there is a heart 
within you, that heart ought to beat with 
gratitude to your Heavenly Father, on account 
of his distinguished mercies, both of a tempo- 
ral and spiritual nature, towards you : above 
all should it beat with gratitude when you re- 



70 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

member that he gave Ms only-begotten Son to 
die for yon ; to die that you might escape that 
awfal place of torment, where the worm dieth 
not, and where the fire is not quenched. 

Oh ! for this love, let rocks and hills 

Their lasting silence break, 
And all harmonious human tongues 

The Saviour's praises speak. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 71 



NUMBEE XIV. 

My Dear Children: I have yet many 
things to tell you about the worship of the 
Hindoos ; but as I haye dwelt so much on this 
subject already, I will turn away from it for 
a little while. In this letter I will give you a 
description of some of their domestic customs. 
These are very different from ours. The men 
and women never eat together. The husband 
first eats, then the wife. The wife waits upon 
the husband. After she has cooked the rice, 
she brings a brass plate, if they possess one ; 
or, if not, a piece of plantain-leaf, and puts it 
down on a mat before him. She then bails 
out the rice, places it upon the leaf, and after- 
wards pours the curry over it. This being 
done, the husband proceeds to mix up the 
curry and rice with his hands and puts it into 
his mouth. He never uses a knife and fork, 
as is customary with us. The curry of which 



72 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

• ^^ 

I have spoken is a sauce of a yellow color, 
owing to the munchel^ or yellow root, whicli 
they put in it. This and onions, kottamaly- 
seeds, naustard, serakum, pepper, etc., consti- 
tute the ingredients of the curry. Many add 
to this, ghee and cocoa-nut milk. By the co- 
coa-nut milk, I do not mean the water of the 
cocoa-nut. This, except in the very young 
cocoa-nut, (when it is a most delicious bever- 
age,) is never used. The milk is squeezed 
from the TYieat of the cocoa-nut, after it has 
reduced to a pulp, by means of an indented 
circular iron, which they use for this purpose. 
After the husband has eaten, the wife brings 
water for him to wash his hands* This being 
done, she supplies him with vettalay, paakkee, 
shell-lime, and tobacco, which he puts into his 
mouth as his dessert. The vettalay is a very 
spicy leaf. Why they use paakkee, I do not 
know. It is a nut which they cut into small 
pieces, but it has not much taste. Sometimes 
the wife brings her husband a segar. This 
people, I am sorry to say, are great smokers 
and chewers — ^practices which you, my dear 
children, should avoid. In Ceylon, if is cus- 
tomary for females to smoke. Frequently, 



LETTERS TO^ CHILDEEK-. 73 

after tlie liiisband has smoked awhile, he 
hands the segar to his wife. She then puts it 
into her mouth and smokes. 

Several years ago,, one of the school-masters 
in that island became a Christian. After he 
had partaken of the Lord's Supper, his wife 
considered him so defiled that she would not 
put his segar into her mouth for a month 
afterwards. She, however, has since become 
a Christian. 

I spoke just now of the plantain-leaf. This 
leaf is sometimes six feet long, and in some 
places a foot and a half wide. It is an un- 
broken leaf, with a large stem running through 
the middle of it. It is the handsomest leaf I 
ever saw. Pieces enough can be torn from a 
single leaf to take the place of a dozen plates. 
When quite young, it is an excellent applica- 
tion to surfaces which have been blistered. 

"When this people eat, they do not use 
tables and chairs. They sit down on mats, 
and double their legs under them, after the 
manner of our friends, the tailors, in America, 
when they sew. This is the way in which 
the natives sit in many churches. Carpenters 
and other tradesmen sit down, either on a 
7 



74 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

board, or on tlie ground, or on their legs, 
wlien tliej work. It would divert you mucli 
to see their manoeuvring. If a carpenter, for 
instance, wants to make a little peg, he will 
take a small piece of board and place it in an 
erect position between his feet, the soles of 
which are turned inward, so as to press upon 
the board. He then takes his chisel in one 
hand and his mallet in the other, and cuts off 
a small piece. Afterwards he holds the piece 
in one hand, and, while he shapes it with his 
chisel with the other, he steadies it by press- 
ing it against his great toe. 

The blacksmiths, with the exception of 
those who use the sledge-hammer, sit as do 
the carpenters, while they hammer the iron. 
I wish you could see them at work, with their 
simple apparatus. They have small anvils, 
which they place in a hole made in a log of 
wood, which is buried in the ground. They 
do not use such bellows as you see in America. 
Theirs consist of two leather bags, about a 
foot wide and a foot and a half long, each 
having a nozzle at one end. The other end 
is left open to admit the air. When they 
wish to blow the fire, they extend these bags 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 75 

to admit tlie air. Then thej close them by 
means of the thumb on one side and the fin- 
gers on the other, and press them down to- 
wards the nozzle of the bellows, which forces 
the air through them into the fire. I should 
have said before, that the nozzle of the bellows 
passes through a small semi-circular mound 
of dried mud. 

I mentioned that the natives do not use 
tables and chairs in their houses. Neither do 
thej, as a general thing, use bedsteads. They 
have no beds. They sleep on mats, which they 
spread down on the floor. Sometimes they 
use a cotton bolster under their heads. More 
generally, their pillows are hard boards, which 
they put under the mat. In addition to cook- 
ing, the females have to prepare the rice for 
this purpose, by taking it out of the husk. 
This they do by beating it in a mortar about 
two feet high. The pestle with which they 
pound it is about five feet long, made of wood, 
mth an iron rim around the lower part of it. 
Three women can work at one of these mor- 
tars at the same time ; of course they have to 
be very skillful in the use of the pestle, so as 
not to interfere with each other's operations. 



70 LETTSRS TO CHILDREN. 



Sometimes wHle tliiis engaged, tlie cTiildren, 
who are at play near their mothers, put their 
hands on the edge of the mortars. In such 
cases when the pestle happens to strike the 
edge, their fingers are taken off in a moment. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE XY. 

My Deae Children : If you will take a 
piece of mahogany in your hand, and view its 
different shades, you will have a pretty good 
representation of the color of a large class of 
this people. I say of a large class ; for there 
is a great variety of colors. Some appear to 
be almost of a bronze color ; some are quite 
black. It is difficult to account for the differ- 
ent colors which we often see in the same fa- 
mily. For instance, one child will be of the 
reddish hue to which I just referred ; another 
will be quite dark. "When I was in Ceylon, 
two sisters of this description joined my 
church. One was called Sevappe, or the red 
one; the other was called Karappe, or the 
black one. 

The people resemble the English and Ame- 
ricans in their features. Many of them are 
very beautiful. This remark will apply par- 
7* 



78 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

ticularly to children, and more especially to 
tlie children of Brahmins and others who are 
delicately brought up. But, however beauti- 
ful any of this people may be, they try to 
make themselves appear more so by the orna- 
ments which they wear. These ornaments 
are made of gold, silver, brass, precious stones, 
or glass. All are fond of ear-rings. Some- 
times four or five are worn in each ear, consist- 
ing of solid gold ; the lower one being the 
largest, and the upper one the smallest. Some 
men wear a gold ornament attached to the 
middle of the ear, in which a precious stone is 
inserted. Sometimes they wear large circular 
ear-rings ornamented with precious stones. 
The females, in addition to ear-rings, have an 
ornament which passes through the rim of the 
ear, near the head, half of it being seen above 
the rim, and half of it below it. An orna- 
mental chain is sometimes attached to this, 
which goes some distance back, where it is 
lost in the hair. They also wear a jewel 
sometimes in the middle of the rim of the ear, 
and another on that little forward point which 
strikes your finger when you attempt to put 
it into the ear. ISTose-jewels also are worn. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



Sometimes three are worn at tlie same time. 
Holes are made througL. each side of the lower 
part of the nose, and- through the cartilage, or 
that substance which divides the nostrils, 
through which they are suspended. The 
higher and wealthier females wear a profusion 
of ornaments of gold and pearls around the 
neck. 

A very pretty ornament, about three inches 
in diameter, having the appesprance of gold, is 
also frequently worn by them on that part of 
the head where the females of America put 
up their ha,ir in a knot. In addition to this, 
the little girls sometunes wear one or two si- 
milar but smaller ornaments below this, as 
well as an ornament at the end of the long 
braid of hair which hangs down over the mid- 
dle of their backs. They also wear an orna- 
ment extending from the crown of the head 
to the forehead, just in that spot where the 
little girls to whom I am in part writing, 
part their hair. Attached to this, I have seen 
a circular piece of gold filled with rubies. 
Kings are worn on the toes as well as on the 
fingers, and bracelets of gold or silver on the 
wrists. Anklets similar to bracelets, and tink- 



80 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 

ling ornaments, are worn on tlie ankles. The 
poor, wlio can not afford to wear gold or silver 
bracelets, liave them made of glass, stained 
with different colors. I have seen nearly a 
dozen on each wrist. 

The little boys wear gold or silver brace- 
lets, also gold or silver anklets. I just alluded 
to finger-rings : I have seen a dozen on the 
same hand. 

The Mohammedan little girls have their 
ears bored from the top to the bottom. A 
ring is inserted in each of the openings. I 
some time ago saw^a little girl in whose ears I 
counted twenty-four rings. 

Flowers, in great profusion, are sometimes 
used to add to the adornment of the jewels. 

When I was residing for a time in Madura, 
a little patient of mine came to me, loaded with 
jewels. The following description of her ap- 
pearance is given by my daughter : *'0n the 
17th, a little dancing-girl came to see us. She 
was adorned with many jewels, some of which 
were very beautiful. The jewel in the top of 
the ear was a circle nearly the size of a dollar. 
It was set with rubies. Nine pearls were sus- 
pended from it. In the middle of the ear was 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 81 

a jewel of a diamond shape, set with, rubies 
and pearls. Tlie lowest je¥,rel in the ear was 
shaped like a bell. It was set with rubies, and 
from it bung a row of pearls. Close by the 
ear, suspended from the bair, was a jewel 
wbicb reached beloYf her ear. It consisted of 
six bells of gold, one above the other. Aroimd 
each was a small row of pearls, which reached 
nearly to the bell below; thus forming a jewel 
resembling very many drops of pearls; It is 
the most beautiful jevfel that I ever saw. In 
the right side of her nose was a white stone 
set with gold, in the shape of a star ;' from it 
hung a large pearl. There was a hole bored 
in the partition between the nostrils. This 
hole had a jewel in it aboLit an inch in length, 
in the middle of which w&s a white stone, with 
a ruby on each side. It also had a ruby on 
the top. From the white stone hung another, 
of a similar color, attached to it by a piece of 
gold. In the left side of the nose was a jewel 
about an inch in diameter. It was somewhat 
in the shape of a half-moon, and was set with 
rubies, pearls, emeralds, etc. This jewel hung 
below her mouth. On the back of her head 
was a large, round gold piece, three inches in 



82 LETTEES TO CHILDREN. 

diameter. Anotlier piece, about two inclies in 
diameter, hung below tMs. Her bair was 
braided in one braid, and bung down ber 
neck. At tbe bottom of tbis were tbree large 
tassels of silk, mounted witb gold. Her eye- 
brows and eye-lasbes were painted witb black. 
Her neck was covered witb jewels of sucb 
beauty, and of sucb a variety, tbat it is impos- 
sible for me to describe tbem. Around ber 
ankles were large rings wbicb looked like 
braided silver. To tbese were attached very 
many little bells, wbicb rung as sbe walked. 
I believe tbat all dancing-girls wear tbese 
rings. We felt very sad wben we tbougbt 
tbat sbe was dedicated to a life of infamy and 
sbame." 



LETTERS TO CHILDREX. 8^ 



NUMBEE XYI. 

My Dear Children : There is an orna- 
ment worn bj the followers of the god Siva, 
on their arms, or necks, or in their hair. It 
is called the lingum. The nature of this is so 
utterly abominable, that I must not tell you a 
word about it. 

Married women wear an ornament peculiar 
to themselves. It is called the tahlj. It is a 
piece of gold on which is engraven the image 
of some one of their gods. This is fastened 
roimd the neck bj a short yellow string, con- 
taining one hundred and eight threads of 
great fineness. Various ceremonies are per- 
formed before it is applied, and the gods, with 
their wives, are called upon to give their bless- 
ing. When these ceremonies are finished the 
tahly is brought on a waiter, ornamented with 
sweet-smelling flowers, and is tied by the 
bridegroom to the neck of the bride. This 



84 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

ornament is never taken ojff unless lier lins- 
band dies. In such a case slie is deprived of 
it to wear it no more for ever — deprived of it, 
after various ceremonies, hj her nearest female 
relative, who cuts the thread by which it is 
suspended, and removes it. After this a bar- 
ber is called, who shaves her head, and. she 
becomes in the eyes of the people a despised 
widow — ^no more to wear any ornament about 
her neck but a plain one — no more to stain 
her face with yellow water, nor to wear on her 
forehead those marks which are considered by 
the natives as among their chief ornaments. 

The great chsgrace to vfhich females who 
lose their husbands are subjected, is, perhaps, 
the grand rea,son, at least in many cases, why 
they wish to be burnt to death on the funeral 
pile, or otherwise destroyed. Let me mention 
an instance of this kind: " Kot long since a 
woman starved herself to death, because she 
was prevented from being burnt with the 
corpse of her husband. She was about twenty- 
five years of age, the wife of a Brahmin ; but 
as she resided in one of the allied States, where 
the Eajah had been persuaded to carry out the 
views of the British government respecting 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 85 



the Suttee, slie was frustrated in lier wishes. 
As soon as it was rumored abroad that she in- 
tended to be burnt, an officer was dispatched 
to forbid it, and, if necessary, to put the 
woman in confinement till she repented of her 
rash design. Thus restrained, she allowed her 
husband's remains to be consumed without her, 
and appeared quietly to submit to the neces- 
sity of living ; so quietly, that it was supposed 
all danger of a fatal result was over, and she 
was allowed to remain at large. But she had 
entertained the purpose of selfmurder too 
long, again to be reconciled to life. Accord- 
ingly, after having witnessed her husband's 
remains reduced to ashes, she returned to her 
dwelling with the confirmed determination to 
starve herself to death ; and so firmly did she 
adhere to her resolution, that for the nest three 
days, with the exception of an occasional frag- 
ment of sweetmeats, she entirely abstained 
from food. After thus starving herself, she 
went to an open space on the side of the city 
tank, danced there frantically for several hours, 
and then returning home, almost immediately 
expired. Her friends no sooner saw her dead, 
than they resolved to erect a small temple to 
- 8 



86 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

her memory, and worship her as a goddess. 
Unexpected difficnlties arose to prevent the 
execution of their design. They had selected 
a site and commenced operations, when they 
were prevented by the native government 
from proceeding further, on the plea that the 
land belonged to the king, and ought not to 
have been appropriated without his permis- 
sion." ISTow, perhaps, you would ask, had I 
not previously said what I did. What could • 
have nerved this woman thus to encounter 
death in so terrible a form ? Her friends say 
that the principle which inspired her was not 
an extravagant affection for her husband, nei- 
ther was it the hope of ranking high in another 
state of being. To these considerations she 
did not once advert, but the constant burden 
of her lamentation was the state of poverty 
and wretchedness to which she would be re- 
duced. She well knew the degradation which 
is purposely heaped upon the Brahmin widow. 
What a wretched system is Hindooism, which, 
tyrannising over the weaker sex, first reduces 
the widow to wretchedness, and then suggests 
a violent death as the appropriate mode of es- 
cape! 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 87 



NUMBEE XYII. 

My Dear Children : In my two last let- 
ters, I have told you sometlimg of tlie jewels 
and other ornaments worn by this people. I 
hope that you will never be disposed to imitate 
them, and load your bodies with such useless 
things. They are not only useless, but they 
tend to encourage pride and vanity. All that 
you need is the ''Pearl of great price," even 
Jesus. Adorn yourself with this Pearl, and 
you will be beautiful indeed — beautiful even 
in the sight of your heavenly Father. Have 
you this Pearl of great price, my dear child- 
ren? Tell me. Have you this Pearl of 
great price ? If you have not, what have you ? 
Nothing. And .if you die in your present 
condition, nothing is before you but the black- 
ness of darkness for ever — nothing but a worse 
hell than that which is before such of the poor 
heathen who have never heard, as you have 



88 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

lieard and continue to hear, of a Savionr. 
"And that servant wliicli knew his Lord's 
will, and prepared not himself, neither did 
according to his will, shall be beaten with 
many stripes ; but he that knew not and did 
commit things worthy of stripes, shall be 
beaten with few stripes." Awful indeed is it 
to go down to perdition, from a heathen land ; 
but how unspeakably more awful is it to go 
down to perdition from a Christian land ! Oh ! 
that you, my dear children, who have not yet 
given your hearts to Christ would think of, 
these things. Oh ! that you would lay to heart 
the things which belong to your peace, before 
they shall for ever be hidden from your eyes. 
Who can lie down in everlasting burnings ? 
Who can dwell for ever with devouring flames ? 
In my last letter, I alluded to some marks 
which the natives of this country consider to 
be among their chief ornaments. These are 
different among different sects. The followers 
of Siva rub ashes on their foreheads. They 
also apply these ashes in streaks, generally 
three together, on their breasts, and on their 
arms. Some besmear their whole bodies with 
them. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 89 

The followers of Yislinoo wear a very dif- 
ferent ornament from tliat just described. It 
consists of a perpendicular line drawn on tlie 
foreliead, of a red or yellow color, and a wliite 
line on eacL. side of it, whicli unite at the bot- 
tom with the middle line and form a trident 

Another ornament consists of a small circle, 
which is called pottee. This is stamped in the 
middle of the forehead. Sometimes it is red, 
sometimes yellow or black. Large numbers 
of women, in this part of the country, wash 
their faces with a yellow water, made so by 
dissolving in it a paste made of a yellow root 
and common shell-lime. The Brahmins, fre- 
(pently, instead of rubbing ashes, draw a 
horizontal line over the middle of their fore- 
heads, to show that they have bathed and that 
they are pure. Sometimes the people orna- 
ment themselves with a paste made of sandal- 
wood. They rub themselves from head to 
foot with it. This has a very odoriferous 
smell. 

When the people are loaded Avith jewels 

and covered with the marks which I have just 

described, they think themselves to be highly 

ornamented. But, after all, "they are like 

8^- 



90 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

unto wliited sepiilclires, wliicli indeed appear 
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead 
men's bones and of all uncleanness." Tbe Pearl 
of great price — to wbicli I have already allud- 
ed, tbe only Pearl YitHcIl is of any value in 
the sight of Him who looketh at the heart and 
not at the outward appearance — ^they possess 
not. Millions in this Eastern world have 
never even heard of it. Oh ! how incessantly 
ought you to pray that they may come into 
possession of it. How gladly should you give 
your money to send it to them. I wish in this 
place to ask you one qu.estion : Who of you 
expect by and by to become missionaries to 
this land, to tell this people of the Pearl of 
gTeat price? 



LETTSHS TO CHILDREN. 91 



ISrUMBEE XVIII. 

My Deak Childken": The dress of the 
Hindoos is very simple. A single piece of 
uncut cloth, three or four yards in length and 
one in width, wrapped around the loins, with 
a shawl thrown over the shoulders, constitutes 
the usual apparel of the people of respecta- 
bility. These garments are often fringed with 
gold, or otherwise ornamented. The native 
ladies, frequently, almost encase themselves in 
cloth or sUk. Under such circumstances, 
their cloths are perhaps twenty yards in 
length. Most of the native gentlemen novf 
wear turbans ; an ornament which they have 
borrowed from the Mohammedans. This con- 
sists of a long piece of very fine stuf^ some- 
times twenty yards in length. With this they 
encircle then- heads, of course with many 
folds. Those who are employed by Euro- 
peans, and by the great men among the Mo- 
hammedans, wear a long robe of muslin, a 



02 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

very fine clotli. This is also in imitation of 
the Mohammedans, and was formerly unknown 
in this conntry. 

The houses of the Hindoos are generally 
very plainly built. You, perhaps, have seen 
the low buildings in which ropes are made. 
Imagine to yourselves a rope-walk of one 
hundred feet long, divided into four equal 
parts, and cut at the ends in such a manner 
that, when put together, they will form an un- 
broken square, and you will have some idea 
of the appearance of the best of native houses. 
Consequently there is a great open space in the 
middle vfliich admits the light from above, 
and of course all the rain which falls on the 
inner roof descends within the house, into the 
middle court. This is let off by sluices which 
run under the building. A mud floor under 
the inner slopings of the house, about a foot 
high, preserves the people from the effects of 
the rain. It is on this floor that they sleep. 
In the country, the houses are usually thatched 
with straw. In the cities they are covered 
with tiles. The kitchen is situated in the 
most retired part of the house. In the houses 
of the Brahmins, the kitchen-door is always 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 93 

barred to prevent strangers jB:om looking upon 
their earthen vessels ; for if they shonld hap- 
pen to see them, their look would pollute them 
to such a degree that thej must be broken to 
pieces. The hearth is generally placed on the 
south-west side, which is said to be the side of 
the god offire^ because they say this god dwells 
there. 

The Hindoos have many ways of salutation. 
In some places they raise the right hand to 
the heart, in others, they simply stretch it out 
towards the person who is passing, if they 
know him, for they never salute persons with 
whom they are not acquainted. In many 
places there is no show of salutation. When 
they meet their acquaintances, they content 
themselves by saying a friendly word or two 
in passing, and then pursue their way. They 
have borrowed the word salam from the Mo- 
hammedans. They salute both Mohamme- 
dans and Europeans with this word, at the 
same time raising their hand to the forehead. 
When they address persons of high rank, 
they give them .their salam thrice, touching 
the ground as often with both hands, and then 
lifting them up to their foreheads. 



94 LETTERS TO CHILDREN-. 

The otlier castes salute tlie Bralimiiis by 
joining the hands and elevating them to the 
forehead, or sometimes over the head. It is 
accompanied with ancktmayya, which means, 
blessing, Hail, respected lord. The Brahmins 
stretch out their hands and say aaseervaathum, 
benediction. 

Another very respectful kind of salutation 
consists in lowering both hands to the feet of 
the person to be honored, or even falling down 
and embracing them. 

Of all the forms of salutation, the most re- 
spectful is the shaashtaanghum, or prostration, 
in which the feet, the knees, the stomach, the 
head, and the arms all touch the ground. In 
doing this, they throw themselves at their 
whole length on the ground, and stretch out 
both arms above their head. This is prac- 
tised before priests, and in the presence of an 
assembly, when they appear before it to ask 
pardon for a crime. 

Eelations who have long been separated, 
testify their joy when they meet by chucking 
each other under the chin, and shedding tears. 
I am not aware that grown persons ever kiss 
each other. Sometimes mothers or other indi- 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 95 

viduals will put their noses to tlie cheeks of 
little cliildren, and draw tlie air through 
them, just as we do when we smell any thing 
which is agreeable. At other times they will 
apply the thumb and first finger to the cheek 
of the chUd, and then apply them to their own 
noses, and, as it were, smell them. 

The women, as a mark of respect, turn 
their backs, or at least turn their faces aside 
when they are in the presence of those whom 
they highly esteem. They are never permit- 
ted to sit in the presence of men. A married 
woman can not do this, even in the presence 
of her husband. 

If a person meets another of high rank, he 
must leave the path if on foot, or alight if on 
horseback, and remain standing until he has 
passed. He must, at the same time, take off 
his slippers. He must also take off his slippers 
when he enters a house. Should he fail to do 
this, it would be considered a great impropriety. 

In addressing a person of note, they must 
keep at a certain distance from him, and cover 
their mouths with their hands while they are 
speaking, lest their breath, or a particle of 
moisture, should escape to trouble him. 



96 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

When the Hindoos visit a person of dis- 
tinction for the first time, civility requires 
them to take some present as a mark of re- 
spect, or to show that they come with a friend- 
ly intention; especially if they wish to ask 
some favor in return. When they have not 
the means of making large presents, they car- 
ry with them sugar, plantains, nulk, and other 
things of this kind. 

In cases of mourning, visits must always 
be made, though at a distance of a hundred 
miles. Letters of condolence would by no 
means be received as a substitute. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 97 



NUMBEE XIX. 

My Deae Childeen : Marriage to the Hin- 
doos is tlie greatest event of their lives. In 
the celebration of it many ceremonies are per- 
formed. If the father of the young girl is a 
Brahmin, and if he is rich and liberal, he will 
frequently bear all the expenses of the mar- 
riage of his daughter. To give a daughter in 
marriage, and to sell her, are about the same 
thing. Almost every parent makes his daugh- 
ter an article of traf&c, refusing to give her up 
until the sum of money for which he con- 
sented to let her go is paid. Men of distinc- 
tion generally lay out this money for jewels, 
which they present to their daughters on their 
wedding-day. You will infer, from what I 
have now said, that the parties to be married 
have nothing to do in the choice of each other. 

The marriage-ceremony lasts five days. • The 
bride and bridegroom are first placed under a 
9 



98 LETTERS TO CHILDEEJ?". 

puntel, a kind of bower covered with, leaves, 
in front of tlie house. This is superbly 
adorned. The married women then come for- 
ward, and perform the ceremony called arati^ 
which is as follows; Upon a plate of copper 
they place a lamp made of a paste from rice- 
flour. It is supplied with oil, and lighted. 
They then take hold of the plate with both 
hands, and raise it as high as the heads of the 
couple to be married, and describe a number 
of circles with the plate and lamp. This is to 
prevent the evil of any jealous looks which 
certain persons might make. The Hindoos 
believe that great evils arise from wicked 
looks. They consider that even the gods 
themselves are not out of the reach of mali- 
cious eyes; and, therefore, after they have 
been carried through the streets, the ceremony 
of arati is always performed, to efface the evil 
which they may have suffered from these 
looks. 

It ought to have been mentioned, that, be- 
fore any thing is done, they place an image of 
PuUiar, the elephant-faced god, under the 
puntel. This god is much honored, because 
he is much feared. And although the great 




HINDOO GOD PULLIAR. 



Page S8. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 99 

■Ugliness of Ms appearance lias Mtherto kept 
liim without a wife, they never fail to pay Mm 
the greatest attention, lest he should in some 
way or other injure them. 

After arati and many other ceremonies are 
performed, the kankanan, which is merely a 
bit of saffron, is tied to the right wrist of the 
young man, and to the left wrist of the girl. 
This is done with great solemnity. Another 
remarkable ceremony succeeds this. The 
young man being seated with his face towards 
the east, his future father-in-law supposes that 
he beholds in Mm the great Yishnoo. With 
tMs impression he offers him -a sacrifice, and 
then making him put both of his feet in a new 
dish filled with cow-dung, he first washes 
them with water, then with milk, then again 
with water, accompanying the whole with 
suitable muntrums or prayers. 

After many ceremomes, he takes the hand 
of his daughter, and puts it into that of Ms 
son-in-law. He then pours water over them, 
in honor of Vishnoo. This is the most solemn 
of all the ceremonies, being the token of Ms 
resigning his daughter to the authority of the 
young man. She must be accompanied with 



100 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

three gifts, namely, one or more cows, some 
property in land, and a salagrama^ wliicli con- 
sists of some little amnlet stones in liigli 
esteem among tlie Brahmins. This ceremony 
being finished, the tahly is brought to be fas- 
tened to the neck of the bride. This, as I be- 
fore said, is presented on a salver decked and 
garnished with flowers. Incense is offered to 
it, and it is presented to the assistants, each of 
whom touches it, and invokes blessings on it. 
The bride then turning towards the east, the 
bridegroom takes the tahly, repeats a mun- 
triim or prayer aloud, and ties it around her " 
neck. • 

Fire is then brought in, upon which the 
bridegroom offers up the sacrifice of homam, 
which consists in throwing boiled rice, with 
melted butter, upon the fire. He then takes 
his bride by the hand, and they walk three 
times around it, while the incense is blazing. 

There is another ceremony which is con- 
sidered by some to be of much importance. 
Two baskets of bamboo are placed closely to- 
gether, one for the bride and the other for the 
bridegroom. They step in them, and two 
other baskets being brought, filled with ground 



lETTERS TO CHILDREN. 101 

rice, tlie linsband takes up one witli both 
liands, and pours tlie contents over tlie liead of 
tlie bride. Sbe does tbe same to bim. In tbc 
marriage of great princes, pearls are some- 
times used instead of rice. 

On tbe evening of tbe tbird day, wben tbe 
constellations appear, tbe astrologer points out 
to tbe married pair a very small star close to 
tbe middle or in tbe tail of Ursalfajor, wbicb 
be directs tbem to worsbip, and wbicb be says 
is tbe wife of Yasestba. 

Wbile tbe assembled guests are dining, tbe 
bridegroom and tbe bride also partake. Tbis 
is a token of tbe closest union. Tbis is tbe 
only instance in wbicb tbey ever eat together. 

After all tbe ceremonies are finished, a pro- 
cession is made through the streets of the vil- 
lage. It cqpamonly takes place in the night, 
by torch-light, accompanied with fire-works. 
The newly-married pair are seated in one pa- 
lanquin, with their faces towards each other, 
both richly dressed. Tbe bride, in particular, 
is often covered with jewels and precious 
stones. 

•" I once witnessed one of these marriage pro- 
cessions in the streets of Madras, at night, biit 
9* 



102 LETTERS. TO CHILDREN. 

can give you but little idea of its magnificence. 
The lamps used on tlie occasion could not be 
numbered. Tlie shrubbery, wMcli was drawn 
on carts or other vehicles, appeared exceed- 
ingly beautiful, in consequence of the light 
reflected by the lamps. Intermingled with 
the shrubbery were to be seen little girls, ele- 
gantly dressed, and adorned with flowers on 
their heads. Many elephants, with their trap- 
pings of gold and silver and red, formed a 
part of the procession. Fire-works were also 
added to make the scene more brilliant. 



LETTERS TO CIIILDHEN. 103 



NUMBER XX. 

My Dear Children : The death of a Hin- 
doo is followed by many foolish ceremonies. 
I will give you a description of these, con- 
nected with the death of a Brahmin. 

When it is evident that a Brahmin has but 
a little time to live, a space is prepared with 
earth, well sjDread with cow-dung, over which 
a cloth which has never been worn is spread. 
The dying man is placed on this at full length. 
Another cloth is wrapped around his loins. 
This being done, the ceremony of expiating 
his sins is performed as follows : The chief of 
the funeral brings on one plate some small 
pieces of silver or copper coin, and on another 
the punchakaryam,, etc. The word puncha- 
karyam literally means the five things. These 
all come from the cow, and must be mixed 
together. The first three of these I will men- 
tion — namely, the milk, butter, and curds. 



104 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

The otlier two, for tlie sake of delicacy, I 
must not mention. A little of this punchaka- 
r jam is put into his mouth, and b j means of 
this nau.seous drailght the body is perfectly 
purified. Besides this, there is a general 
cleansing, which is accomplished by making 
the dying man recite within himself, if he can 
not speak, the proper muntrums, by which he 
is delivered from all his sins. After this, a 
cow is introduced, with her calf Her horns 
are decorated with rings of gold or brass, and 
her neck with garlands of flowers. A pure 
cloth is laid over her body. Thus decked, she 
is led up to the sick man, who takes hold of 
her tail. Prayers are now offered up, that the 
cow may conduct him, by a blessed path, to 
the next world. He then makes a gift of a 
cow to a Brahmin. This is considered indis- 
pensable to enable the soul to go over the 
river of fire, which, it is said, all must pass 
after death. Those who have made this gift 
are met by one of these favored creatures the 
moment they arrive at the bank of the stream, 
and by her help they are enabled to pass with- 
out injury from the flames 
As soon as the breath has left the body, all 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 105 

wlio are present must weep and join in la- 
mentations together. 

After Tarious ceremonies, tlie body is wash- 
ed, and a barber is called to shave his head. 
He is then clad with his finest clothes, and 
adorned with jewels. He is rubbed with san- 
dal-wood when the body is uncovered, and 
the accustomed mark is put upon his forehead. 
Thus dressed, he is placed on a kind of state- 
bed, where he remains until he is carried to 
the pile. 

After every preparation is made to bear 
away the corpse, it is stripped of its jewels, etc., 
and placed on a htter. Those who die in a 
state of marriage have their faces left uncov- 
ered. The litter, adorned with flowers and 
fohage, and sometunes decked with valuable 
stuffs, is borne by four Brahmias. The pro- 
cession is as follows : The chief of the funeral 
marches foremost, carrying fire in a vessel. 
The body follows, attended by the relations 
and friends, without their turbans. The women 
never attend the funeral, but remain in the 
house, where they set up a hideous cry when 
the corpse is taken out. While advancing on 
the road, it is customary to stop three times 



106 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 

on the way, and at eact. pause to pnt into tlie 
mouth, of the dead a morsel of unboiled rice, 
moistened. The object for stopping is con- 
sidered to be very important; for they say 
that persons supposed to be dead have been 
alive, or even when lifeless have been re- 
stored; and sometimes, also, it has happened 
that the gods of the infernal regions have mis- 
taken their aim, and seized one person instead 
of another. In any view, it is right to afford 
the opportunity for correcting these mistakes, 
so as not to expose to the flames a person who 
is yet alive. 

Having arrived at the place of burning the 
dead, they dig a trench about six or seven 
feet in length. This is consecrated by mun- 
trums. A few pieces of money in gold are 
scattered upon' it. Here the pile is erected of 
dried wood, on which the body is laid out at 
length. Over the body a quantity of twigs 
are laid, and are sprinkled with punchakary- 
am. The chief of the funeral then takes on 
his shoulder a pitcher of water, and goes 
round the pile three times, letting the water 
run through a hole made in it. After this, 
he breaks the pitcher in pieces near the head 
of the corpse. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREIT. 107 

At last the torcli for setting fire to tlie pile 
is brouglit, and is handed to the chief of the 
funeral. Before he receives it, however, he 
rolls on the ground, beats his breast, and 
makes the air resound with his cries. The 
assistants also cry, or appear to cry. Fire 
being applied to the four corners of the pile, 
the crowd retire, except the four Brahmins 
who carried the body. They remain until 
the whole is consumed. 

The funerals of the Sudras differ in some 
particulars from those of the Brahmins. 
Deafening sounds of drums, trumpets, and 
other instruments of music, accompany their 
funerals. To increase the noise, they some- 
times shoot off a small instrument somewhat 
resembling a cannon. 

By the ceremonies performed just before 
death, this wretched people expect to secure 
the pardon of all the sins of the deceased, 
Alas ! what a delusion. Oh ! that Christians 
had sent the Grospel to this dark land in the 
days when they sent it to our heathen fathers. 
Then might the Hindoos now be seeking the 
expiation of their sins through the blood of 
the ever-blessed Kedeemer. Of this Eedeem- 



108 LETTERS TO CHILDllEN. 

er, however, tlie most of them know little or 
notiiing. Thej enter eternity, not tliat tlieir 
souls may be consumed as tlieir bodies have 
been, but to endure the flames of Divine 
wrath, for ever and ever. Alas! alas! that it 
should be so. Oh! that the generation of 
Christians now living would lay to heart 
these things, and do what they can, through 
grace, to rescue those who are yet within the 
reach of hope from so tremendous a doom. 
What, my dear children, will you do for this 
purpose ? 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 109 



TSrUMBEE XXI. 

My Deak Children" : The people of India 
are divided into castes, as thej are called. 
Their sacred books declare tliat Brumlia cre- 
ated four different castes to inhabit the earth. 
From his mouth proceeded the Brahmin caste. 
Those of this class are the highest and noblest 
beings on earth, and hold the ofS.ce of priests. 
At the same time there flowed from his mouth 
the Vedas, or sacred books. From Brumha's 
arm proceeded the military caste. From his 
breast proceeded the farmers and merchants. 
From his feet proceeded the Sudras or servile 
caste; carpenters, weavers, and the manual 
cultivators of the soil are included in this 
class. 

Caste is not a civil, but a religious institu- 
tion. It is a difference of hind. Hence, a 
man of one caste can never be changed into a 
man of another caste, any more than a lion 
10 



110 LETTERS TO CHILDREN-. 

can be cliaiiged into a mole. Each, caste has 
its laws, the breaking of which is attended 
with great disgrace. 

By the system of castes, the Hindoos have 
been divided into so many selfish sections, each 
scowling on all the rest with, feelings of hatred 
and contempt. This, of course, is one of the 
greatest obstacles to the spread of Christianity 
in this dark land. 

The Brahmins, in consequence of their hav- 
ing been taught to regard alb other classes of 
men with . contempt, are very proud. The}' 
are exceedingly afraid of being defiled by 
other castes. They have the utmost dread of 
being touched by a Pariah — one of the lowest 
caste. To eat with these Pariahs, or to go in- 
to their houses, or to drink water which they 
have drawn, or from vessels which they have 
handled, is attended with the loss of their 
caste. They are considered to be so low, that 
if a Brahmin were to touch them, even with 
the end of a pole, he would be looked upon 
as polluted. In some places their very ap- 
proach is sufficient to pollute a whole neigh- 
borhood. 

The Brahmins carry their ideas of purity 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. HI 



SO far, tliat if a Sudra should happen to look 
upon the vessels in which they cook their 
food, thej would be considered as defiled. 
They can never touch any kind of leather or 
skin, except the skin of the tiger and antelope. 
They are great enemies to European and 
American boots and gloves. They rarely eat 
their food from plates, and when they do so it 
is only at home. They use the leaf of the 
plantain or other trees as a substitute. They 
will neither use a spoon nor a fork when they 
eat, and they are astonished that any one, 
after having applied them to their mouths and 
infected them with saliva, should repeat the 
act a second time. When they eat any thing 
dry, they throw it into their mouths, so that 
their fingers may not touch their lips. 

They do not drink as we do, by applying 
the cup to their lips. This would be consid- 
ered a gross impropriety. They pour the 
water into their mouths. The reason why 
they do these things is, because they consider 
the saliva to be the most filthy secretion which 
comes from the body. It is on this account 
that no one is ever allowed to spit within 
doors. 



112 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

The use of animal food they consider to be 
defiling. They will eat nothing which has the 
principle of life in it, not even an egg. To 
kill a cow, is considered by them a crime 
which can never be atoned for, and to eat 
their flesh is a defilement which can never be 
washed away. To kill a cow is by Hindoo 
law punishable vfith death. 

The touch of most animals, particularly the 
dog, defiles a Brahmin, and yet the dog is one 
of the gods worshipped by the Hindoos. 

A Brahmin who is particular in his delicacy 
must wash his body, or bathe, if he happens to 
tread on a bone, or bit of a rag, or a leaf from 
which one has been eating. He must also be 
careful where he sits. They may sit down on 
the ground without defilement, provided it 
has been newly rubbed over with cow-dung. 
This last specific is used daily to purify their 
houses from the defilement occasioned by 
goers and comers. When thus applied dilu- 
ted with water, it has one good effect — ^it com- 
pletely destroys the fleas and other insects 
with which they are very much annoyed. 

All the high castes consider the use of in- 
toxicating drinks to be defiling. I hope, my 



LETTERS TO CIIILDREN'. 113 

dear cliildren, that you will ever have the 
same opinion, and no sooner touch them than 
you would touch arsenic and other poisons. 

A person may be restored to his caste if he 
has not committed an unpardonable offense. 
This is done as follows : He prostrates himself 
very humbly before his relations — ^they being 
assembled for the purpose of his restoration — 
and submits to the blows or other punishment 
which they may think proper to inflict, or pays 
the fine which they may have laid upon him. 
Then, after shedding tears of sorrow and what 
not, he makes the shaasahanghum before the 
assembly. This being done, he is declared fit 
to be restored to his tribe. When a man has 
been expelled from his caste for some great 
offense, those who restore him slightly burn 
his tongue with a piece of gold made hot. 
They likcAvise apply to the different parts of 
the body red-hot iron stamps, which leave 
marks which remain for ever. Sometimes 
they compel the offender to walk on burn- 
ing embers, and, to complete the purification, 
he must drink the nauseous punchakaryam, 
of which I have before told you. After this, 
he must give a grand feast. 



114 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

ISTo person who lias eaten the flesL. of the 
cow can ever be restored to his caste. Even the 
punchakaryam is of no avail in snch cases. 

I will make a remark here which I might 
have made before. It is, that in Christian 
countries there is a spirit of pride which 
much resembles the spirit of caste. Many are 
to be found who are very proud that they 
have descended from rich and honorable an- 
cestors, and who look down almost with dis- 
dain upon those in other situations. I need 
hardly tell you, that this is a very wicked 
spirit, and entirely opposed to the Grospel. Ko 
matter what may be our high thoughts of our- 
selves, we appear but very low in the sight of 
Him who created us. We are all sinners, a.nd 
as such are offensive in his sight. If we 
would go to heaven, the first thing which we 
have to do is to humble ourselves for the 
pride of our hearts, and become as little child- 
ren before him. We must have that spirit 
of which the Apostle speaks, when he says: 
''Let each esteem others better than them- 
selves." With an humble spirit we may ap- 
proach a holy God, with the assurance that he 
will, for Christ's sake, forgive all our sins. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 115 



NUMBEE XXII. 

My Dear Children : Tlie Hindoos have 
many festivals. These are all occasions of joy 
and gladness. On such days the people quit 
their usual employments. Friends and rela- 
tions unite in family parties and give enter- 
tainments according to their means. Inno- 
cent amusements of various kinds are, resorted 
to, to add to their happiness. There are 
eighteen principal festivals yearly. 

One of the most solemn of their ceremonies 
is held in the month of September, and ap- 
pears to be principally in honor of Parvathe, 
the wife of Siva. At this time, every laborer 
and every artisan offers sacrifices and prayers 
to his tools. The laborer brings his plough, 
hoe, and other farming utensils. He piles 
them together and offers a sacrifice to them, 
consisting of flov?-ers, fruit, rice and other ar- 
ticles. After this, he prostrates hioiself before 



116 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

them at full length, and then returns them to 
their places. 

The mason offers the same adoration and 
sacrifice to his trowel, rule, etc. The carpen- 
ter adores his hatchet, adze, and plane. The 
barber collects his razors together and wor- 
ships them with similar rites. The writing- 
master sacrifices to his style and iron pen, 
with which he writes on the palm-leaf; the 
tailor to his needles ; the weaver to his loom ; 
the butcher to his cleaver. The women on 
that day collect into a heap their baskets, rice- 
mill, rice-pounder, and other household uten- 
sils and after having offered sacrifices to them, 
fall down in adoration before them. Every 
person, in short, in this solemnity, sanctifies 
and adores the instrument or tool by which 
he gains a living. The tools are considered 
as so many gods, to whom they present their 
prayers that they will continue to furnish 
them still with the means of getting a live- 
lihood. 

This feast is concluded by making an idol 
to represent Parvathe. It is made of the 
paste of grain, and, being placed under a sort 
of canopy, is carried through the streets with 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 117 

great pomp, and receives the worship of the 
people. 

Another festival of great solemnity is ob- 
served in October. At this time each person 
makes offerings of boiled rice and other food 
to such of their relations as have died, that 
they may have a good meal on that day. 
They afterwards offer sacrifices of burning 
lamps, of frnit and of flowers, and also new 
articles of dress, that their ancestors may be 
freshly clothed. At this festival soldiers offer 
sacrifices to their weapons to obtain success in 
war. On such occasions, a ram is offered to 
their armor. 

In November, a festival is observed which 
is called the Feast of Lamps. At this season, 
the Hindoos light lamps and place them around 
the doors of their houses. This festival com- 
memorates the deliverance of the earth from 
a giant who had been a great scourge to the 
people. He was slain by Yishnoo, after a 
dreadful battle. In many places, on this day, 
a sacrifice is offered to the dung-hill^ which is 
afterwards to enrich the ground. In the vil- 
lages, each one has his own heap, to which he 
makes his offerings of fruit, flowers, burning 
lamps, etc. 



118 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

The most celebrated of all tlie festivals is 
held at the end of December. It is called 
the Feast of Pongul, and is a season of re- 
joicing for two reasons : the first is, because 
the month of December, every day of which 
is nnlucky, is about to end; and the other 
is, because it is to be followed by a month 
every day of which is fortunate. For the 
purpose of preventing the evil effects of this 
month, the women every morning scour a 
place about two feet square before the door 
of the house, upon which they draw white 
lines, with flour. Upon these they place 
several little balls of cow-dung, sticking in 
each a flower. Ea,ch day these little balls, 
with their flowers, are preserved, and on the 
last day of the month, they are thrown into 
tanks or waste places. 

The first day of this festival is called the 
Pongul of Eejoicing. Near relatives are in- 
vited to the feast, which passes off with mirth 
and gladness. 

The second day is called the Pongul of the 
Sun, and is set apart to worship that body. 
Married women boil rice with milk in the open 
air. "When the milk begins to simmer, they 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 119 



make a loud cry : Pongul ! O Pongul ! The 
vessel is then taken from the fire and set before 
an idol. Part of this rice is offered to the 
image, and after standing there for some time, 
it is given to the cows. The remainder is 
given to the people. This is the great day for 
visiting among friends. The salutation begins 
by the question: "Has the milk boiled?" 
To which the answer is: "It has boiled." 
From this the festival takes the name of Pon- 
gul, which signifies, to boil. 

The third day is called the Pongul of Cows. 
In a great vessel filled with water they put 
saffron and other things. These being well 
mixed, they go around the cows and oxen be- 
longing to the house, several times, sprinkling 
them with water. After this, the men pros- 
trate themselves before them, four times. The 
cows are then dressed, their horns being 
painted with various colors. G-arlands of 
flowers are also put round their necks, and 
over their backs. To these are added strings 
of cocoa-nuts and other kinds of fruit, which, 
however, are soon sha*ken off when they are 
in motion, and are picked up by the children 
and others, who eat what they gather be> some- 



120 LETTERS TO CHILDREK. 

thing sacred. I, however, have told you 
enough. Are you ready to exclaim: "Is it 
possible that a people can be guilty of such 
utter folly?" But you, my dear children, 
would be guilty of such folly, if you had not 
the Bible. Should not the gratitude, then, 
which you owe to your heavenly Father, for 
your distinguished mercies, constrain you to 
do all that you can to send this blessed book 
to this dark land ? 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 121 



NUMBER XXIII. 

My Dear Children: In my letter — ^tlie 
one before the last — wlien speaking of the 
loss of caste, and of the impossibility of its 
being restored, after the eating of the flesh of 
the cow, I should have mentioned that the 
lower castes eat the flesh of the cow, not only 
after it has been killed, but when the cow has 
died of itself. Some eat even the ants — the 
white ants, whose houses are under ground. 
I must tell you some particulars about these 
white ants. They are about half the size of 
the black ant of America, and derive their 
peculiar name from their transparency. In 
front of their heads they have two nippers^ if 
I may so call them, which are very small, but 
with which they do an immense amount of 
mischief Were you to see them, you would 
not suppose it to be possible that with such 
little instruments they could do any injury. 
11 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



Those of US, however, who have long been in 
India, know, to our sorrow, that the contrary 
is the case. They attack our books and 
clothes, and in a single day or night commit 
sad havoc among them. These they use for 
food. Wood is also one of their articles of 
diet. On this account they attack 'our boxes 
and trunks, and when they are of soft wood, 
such as our white pine of America, they soon, 
if left undisturbed, destroy them. Under our 
floors, I may say, there are myriads of them. 
It is on account of their destructive nature 
that we can not board floors in any of the 
houses consisting of but one story. Our 
floors are made of common mortar or tfles. 
Through the former they contrive, with their 
little nippers, to make their way, and by the 
edges of the latter. These ants are favorite 
dishes, if you will allow me to use the term, 
for the fowls, and for the little innocent lizards 
which we have about our houses. This being 
the case, their instinct teaches them to meke 
use of means for their defense. When they 
come up through our floors in quest of food, 
they build mud houses quite up to the floor 
where they intend to have their feasts. As 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 123 

they generally choose those articles wliicli vf ill 
yield with the least labor to their little nip- 
j^ers, they will travel some distance to reach 
them. For instan.ce, if they wish to eat up a 
house which is covered with leaves, they will 
not at first attack the hard wooden posts which 
support the roof, but build their houses on 
these posts, quite up, as I before said, to the 
place where they intend to commence their 
work of destruction. The posts will be re- 
served for their last meals. When their houses 
are done, you can perceive nothing but a long 
elevated streak of dried mud; and unless 
aware of it, you would have no idea of the 
mischief they were doing. These houses are 
semi-circular, consisting at first of soft, wet 
earth, which is brought up in very small 
quantities, of course, in their mouths or their 
little nippers. One grain after another of this 
is piled up, and when their buildings become 
dry they are quite hard — so hard that one of 
their principal enemies, the lizard, can make 
no impression on them. If you will take a 
rattan or a twig of a tree of the same size, 
split it in the middle, fasten one half of it 
with its flat part inward, to a post, encase the 



124 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

whole of it with soft mud about the thickness 
of one of our American-ten cent pieces, and, 
after the mud is dried, draw out the rattan, 
you will have a good idea of their houses. 
Through the hollow in these houses, thousands 
of ants travel to their destined spot. There is 
another singularity about the white ant. It is, 
that they put a covering of mud over every 
thing they intend to devour. For instance, if 
you should happen to drop your spelling-book 
on the ground, and after a few days go in quest 
of it, you would see nothing to remind you 
of your book. All you could see would be 
an elevation having the appearance of dried 
mud. This dried mud they use, as in the in- 
stance to which I just alluded, as a covering 
of defense. Underneath it, and between it 
and your book, there would be a space suffi- 
ciently wide to allow them to travel about, and 
eat at their convenience. 

You may, perhaps, have heard of the white- 
ant hills. They are of the shape of a pyramid, 
several feet above the ground, and become so 
hard that it is dif&cult to destroy them, except 
with a pickaxe. But I have told you enough 
of this, and would proceed to remark that, in 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. "125 

the rainy season, vast mimbers of wMte ants, 
probably the older ones, take wings, come out 
of tbeir holes, fly about for a little season, and 
then die. At this time their bodies become 
larger than the bodies of an American black 
ant. It is after they have taken wings that 
they are made nse of for food. As the ground 
is full of them, the children surround the 
little openings by which they have communi- 
cation with the air, get down upon their hands 
and knees, put their mouths to these openings, 
and, with a peculiar noise which they make, 
they either do in reality call up, or think that 
they do call up, great numbers of them. At 
all events they make their appearance. I 
think it probable that they are frightened by 
the noise which they hear, and that on this 
account they come forth. As fast as they 
show themselves, the children catch and kill 
them. After they have taken many, they put 
them into water, when their wings fall off. 
They then mix them with rice, and dry them 
over the fire. Thus prepared they are ready 
for eating. 

In my next letter, I will (D. Y.) say some- 
thing more about the white ants. 
11* 



126- LETTERS TO CHILDRE^T. 



NUMBEE XXIY. 

My Dear CniLDREisr : In my last letter I 
spoke of the means wliicli tlie little children 
make use of to secure a meal of white ants. 
There is another method adopted by the people 
to catch them. They find an ant-hill where 
the ants are ready for "swarming," and at 
about thirty-two or three feet from the hill, on 
the leeward side, they dig a hole as large as a 
common water-pail, in which they set a pot 
of water standing towards the hill. Then a 
small fire is set a few inches from the pot, be- 
tween it and the ant-hill. As the ants come 
out in great numbers at night, they see the 
hght, are attracted by it, fly directly over it, 
and fall into the water and are drowned. 
Sometimes the people yuR secure two quarts 
of them from a single pot. 

One of the most interesting points in the 
history of the white ant is the queen-mother. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 127 



By digging into tlie outer ant-hill, many, in 
some instances hundreds, of rooms are found, 
which the ants make their home. By dig- 
ging farther into it, a room of a peculiar kind 
is discovered, of which you can have some 
idea by supposing two saucers to be placed 
with their hollows towards each other, and 
thus brought together. Inside this lies the 
queen ; she is like a white worm, somewhat 
translucent, and grows to the enormous size 
of a man's little finger. To this great body 
is attached the natural and small head of the 
small ant! All around her room are very 
small entrances, about the size of a pin's head, 
and at each of these doors is stationed a sen- 
tinel to guard their queen against all intruders. 
These sentinels are very watchful, and if dis- 
turbed they show their attachment to her by 
sticking out of the doors their little nippers, 
and afterwards, if in their power, by cutting 
their enemies into two parts, as with a pair of 
scissors. 

The queen lies quiet, not being able tomovo 
her great body, and if she were able to move 
it, she could not get out of her palace. It is 
said that the ants bring her food and supply 



128 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 

all her wants, wMle she, month, after month, 
continues to fill np her little world with her 
bnsj and mischievous little people. 

I ought to have mentioned in its proper 
place, that when the white ants come up from 
their holes, or while they are carrying up their 
houses — the upper part of which must remain 
open until they reach their place of destina- 
tion — they are much exposed to be devoured. 
The little lizards, for instance, will take up 
their position near them, dart upon them and 
seize them, then recede and swallow them, 
then dart upon them again and again, and 
thus continue their manoeuvring until they 
have filled their little stomachs. "What a fit 
emblem is this of the great adversary — of the 
great devourer of souls ! How does he mo- 
mently and hourly watch to devour us ! My 
dear children, have you been sorry for your 
sins, and have you forsaken them? Have 
you given up your hearts to your Saviour, 
and do you strive above all things to love and 
serve him ? If so, all is well with you. If 
this, however, is not the case, how awful is 
your situation! You are liable every mo- 
ment to be devoured by the great adversary 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 129 



of your souls — liable every moment to bo 
lost. Oh! flee to tbe Saviour — flee to him 
to-day, even now ! Belay not, for if you do, 
even before to-morrow your everlasting wail, 
your everlasting lament, may be begun. 



130 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBER XXY. 

My Dear Childeek: The natives of 
India are very fond of worshipping trees, both 
of good and evil. The Palmyra tree is one 
of the most useful, and it is natural to suppose 
that this would be a favorite object of wor- 
ship. I am not aware, however, that this is 
ever the case. Less regard is shown to those 
trees which excel in fruit than to such as af- 
ford the coolest shade by the thickness of 
their foliage. Among the latter is the stately 
banyan, of which you may have seen the pic- 
ture in the Dayspring. Of the evil or mis- 
chievous trees there is one which is worship- 
ped, and which deserves particular notice. It 
bears thorns which are venomous. To avert 
their evil, the people offer rather a singular 
sacrifice. This consists in sticking rags on its 
branches and shoots, with which they are al- 
most entirely coyered. I saw one of these 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 131 

trees some time ago near Sivigungal, Mr. Clian- 
dler's station in Madura. 

I just now mentioned that tHe Palmyra tree 
is one of the most useful trees in India. I 
must give you some account of it : It is en- 
tirely made up of a trunk and leaves. Of 
course it has no branches. It grows very 
high, and is almost as straight as an arrow. 
In this respect it differs altogether from the 
cocoa-nut tree, which is almost invariably 
crooked. The first shoot from the planted 
nut is a leaf "When this has grown to its full 
size, it has a long stem, three feet in length. 
At this time the leaf is about two feet in di- 
-ameter, and is circular. You may have seen 
the fans which are made of it. After the first 
leaf appears another and another grow at its 
side, and vf hile thus growing the trunk begins 
to be deposited just below them. This, when 
fuUy formed, is a foot and a half in diameter. 
As the trunk continues to grow, the leaves are 
to be seen attached to its sides by the stems, 
the ends of which embrace the whole tree. 
After a while, as new leaves come out, the 
lower leaves die ; but they do not fall off until 
the end of the stem attached to the tree decays. 



132 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

Generally the leaves are cut off. Wlien this 
is the case, a part of the stem remains, which 
eventually falls off, and is used in the place of 
fire- wood. A little ridge is left on every part 
of the trunk where the leaves were attached. 
This makes it quite rough, which is of great 
importance, as it enables the climber of the 
tree to ascend it more easily. 

With this tree and mud alone the natives 
can build a very comfortable house. The 
trunk of the tree is used for rafters and sleep- 
ers. It may also be used for the door-posts 
and doors, but generally Marcosa or other 
hard woods are substituted. These are pre- 
ferable on two accounts. The white ants are 
very fond of the Palmyra wood, and soon de- 
stroy it. It also, from its grassy nature, soon 
decays when it comes in contact with earthy 
substances. Under other circumstances, it is 
very durable. The timbers of the house are 
fastened together with wooden nails, formed 
from the same tree, and the sleepers are tied 
to them by a string which is peeled from the 
stem of the leaf. The leaves are used for the 
covering of the house, and are perfectly water- 
tight. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 133 

This tree furnislies tlie people with, all the 
means necessary for drawing water from the 
wells; posts for the well-sweep; the well- 
sweep ; ropes, twisted from the strands of the 
stem of the leaf; and the basket, made of the 
platted leaves, for the purpose of drawing the 
water. It also makes excellent troughs. 

I remarked that the Palmyra leaves are use- 
ful as a covering for houses. Thej are used 
for a great variety of other purposes. Cut 
into small, oblong pieces, they are platted to- 
gether and used as mats for the floors; for 
bags, in which to keep their rice and other 
grains ; as little receptacles for the sugar which 
is manufactured from the sweet juice of the 
tree. They are used as a substitute for pock- 
ets, to carry their papers, their betel, and arik- 
kanut, and other things ; as plates from which 
to eat, and cups from which to drink. Good 
hats may be manufactured from them. They 
are also used for hedges. After being used 
thus for a year or two, they decay. They are 
then buried in the earth, and serve as an ex- 
cellent manure to enrich the land. 

All their books are written on this leaf. 
The letters are impressed upon them by a style 
12 



134 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

or iron pen, wHcli cuts tkrough tlie outer sur- 
face, or tlie slcin^ of the leaf Cliarcoal is 
rubbed oyer these letters to make tliem more 
legible. Tlie letters wMcIl tbej send b j mail, 
tbeir deeds, and otber similar instruments, are 
also written upon tMs leaf. 

The tree yields a rich but rather coarse 
ffuit. This is as large as a cocoa-nut when 
deprived of its husk. It usually has three 
large seeds. When quite young, the inner 
part of these seeds yields a very delicious jelly. 
Around these seeds, when ripe, there is a yel- 
low, inspissated juice, which is eaten, if you 
will allow me thus to speak, in its natural 
state, and is very nourishing. This juice is 
also expressed from the fruit, put upon mats 
and dried in the sun, and is used for food by 
many of the lower classes. After the seeds 
are divested of their inspissated juice and 
other things, they are planted, and from them 
shoots downward a very nourishing root, 
similar in appearance to the carrot or parsnip. 
This, when fully grown, is dug up. It is then 
boiled and eaten, or it is cut into pieces, dried 
in the sun, and afterwards used as flour to 
make gruels and puddings. The seed serves 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 135 

another purpose after tliis. It is burnt, and 
makes excellent charcoal. This is nsed hy 
the blacksmiths, silversmiths, and other simi- 
lar tradesmen. 

I mentioned that sugar is mannfactured 
from the juice of this tree. This juice is 
drawn from the upper part of it. "Among 
the cluster of leaves which crown the stem, 
several long sheaths are foimd which contain 
the flower-buds. Under each of these the 
climber of the tree hangs a jar, and cutting 
off the top of the bud, the juice begins to 
flow." This at first is very sweet. It is 
called Karapurn J. The sugar is manufactured 
from it while in this state. If it is allowed to 
stand a few hours, it ferments, and becomes 
an intoxicating liquor. This, I am sorry to 
tell you, is much used by many, and goes far 
to counterbalance all the blessings of this tree. 
What a curse are intoxicating drinks to the 
world ! 

But you, perhaps, will ask, How can a man 
climb a tree which has no branches. He 
climbs it in a very curious manner. A loop 
is made of the strand of the stem, and this 
encircles both of his feet. He then stands 



136 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

upriglit, close to the tree, and raising both his 
hands above his head, he clasps the tree with 
them. He then draws Tip his feet as far as 
possible, and applies the sole of each foot to 
the sides of the tree. The loop catches in the 
rough bark, and as it encircles the feet, it pre- 
vents them from slipping. While thns cling- 
ing with his feet, he lets go his hands and 
raises them with his body to nearly a perpen- 
dicular condition, when he again clasps the 
tree with his hands. Then he draws up his.feet 
again, and so on, nntil he reaches the top of the 
tree. After having cut the buds, before re- 
ferred to, he apphes his little jar and imme- 
diately descends. He re-visits the tree after 
he supposes that his jar is filled. 

It is, however, time to conclude. Before I 
do so, allow me, my dear children, to remind 
you of the tree of life, whose leaves are for 
the healing of the nations. If you would sit 
down under the shade of this tree, and enjoy 
its fruit for ever, you must, while on earth, be- 
come Christ's children. And are you his child- 
ren? This is a momentous question, and I 
entreat you to answer it to your conscience, 
before you ever again sleep — ^before you sleep, 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 137 

did I say? Answer it now^ for you may be 
an inhabitant of eternity before another honr, 
yea, another minute, has passed. And if, on 
examination, you find that you are not His, I 
need not spend my time in telling you what 
you must do. 



12* 



138 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBER XXYI. 

My Dear Children" : Rivers are favorite 
objects of worsMp with tlae Hindoos. I will 
tell you a little about one of tbe most cele- 
brated of these — the river Ganges. It is 
called the Ganges after the goddess Gunga. 
The Hindoos say that the goddess Gunga — 
who was produced from the sweat of Yish- 
noo's foot, which Brahma caught and pre- 
served in his alms-dish — came down from 
heaven, and divided herself into a hundred 
streams, which are the mouths of the river 
Ganges. All castes worship her. The sight, 
the name, or the touch of the river Ganges, 
takes away, it is said, all sin. To die on the 
edge of the river, or to die partly buried in 
the stream, or to drink its waters, while their 
bodies are besmeared with mud, is supposed 
to render them very holy. On this account, 
when it is expected that a person must die, he 



MTTEUS TO CHILBREK-. " 139 

is hurried* down to the river, whether wilhng 
or unwilling. Sometimes the wood, which the 
people bring to burn their bodies after death, 
is piled up before their eyes. Oh ! how inhu- 
man is this ! After it is supposed that they 
are dead, and they are placed on the pile of 
wood, if they should revive and attempt to 
rise, it is thought that they are possesseyi with 
the devil, and they are beaten down with a 
hatchet or bamboo. 

Were you standing on the banks of the 
Ganges, you might, perhaps, in one place, see 
two or three young men carrying a sick 
female to the river. If you should ask, what 
they are going to do with her, perhaps they 
would reply : " We are going to give her up 
to Grunga, to purify her soul, that she may go 
to heaven ; for she is our mother." In another 
place you might see a father and mother 
spriakling a beloved child with muddy water, 
endeavoring to soothe his dying agonies, by 
saying: "It is blessed to die by Grunga, my 
son ; to die by Gunga is blessed, my son." In 
another place you might see a man descending 
from a boat, with empty water-pans tied 
around his neck, which pans, when fiUed, 



140 LETTERS- TO CHILDREN. 

will draw down the poor creature to the bot- 
tom, to be seen no more. Here is murder in 
the name of religion. He is a devotee, and 
has purchased heaven, as he supposes, by this 
his last deed. In another place you might see 
a person seated in the water, accompanied by 
a priest, who pours down the throat of the 
dying .man mud and water, and cries out: "O 
mother Gunga! receive his soul !" The dying 
man may be roused to sensibility by the vio- 
lence. He may entreat his priest to desist ; 
but his entreaties are drowned. He persists 
in pouring the mud and water down his 
throat, until he is gradually stifled, suffocated; 
suffocated in the name of humanity; suffo- 
cated in the name of religion. 

It happens sometimes, in cases of sudden 
and violent attacks of disease, that .they can 
not be conveyed to the river before death. 
Under such circumstances a bone is preserved, 
and at a convenient season is taken down and 
thrown into the river. This, it is believed, 
contributes essentially to the salvation of the 
deceased. 

Sometimes strangers are left on the banks 
to die without the ceremony of drinking Gan- 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 141 

ges water. Of these, some liave been seen 
creeping along with the flesh half eaten off 
their bones by the birds; others with limbs 
torn by dogs and jackals ; and others partly 
covered with insects. 

After a person is taken down to the river, 
if he should recover, it is looked upon by his 
friends as a great misfortune. He becomes an 
outcast. Even his own children will not eat 
with him, nor offer him the least attention. 
If they should happen to touch him, they 
must wash their bodies, to cleanse them from 
the pollution which has been contracted. 
About fifty miles north of Calcutta are two 
villages inhabited entirely by these poor crea- 
tures, who have become outcasts in conse- 
quence of their recovery after having been 
taken down to the Ganges. 

At the mouth of the river Hoogly, which 
is one of the branches of the G-anges, is the 
island Sanger, which I saw as we approached 
Calcutta, after having been at sea one hundred 
and twenty-eight days. ISTow, my dear child- 
ren, if you come to India as missionaries, you 
will have to sail nearly one hundred and 
thirty days before you can reach it. Sanger 



142 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

Island is tlie place where, formerly, hniidreds 
of motliers were in the habit of throwing 
their children to the crocodiles, and where 
these mothers were wont to weep and cry if 
the crocodiles did not devour their children 
before their eyes. Think what a dreadful re- 
ligion that must be, which makes mothers 
wilHng to do such things. 

I am glad to tell you that the British gov- 
ernment in India has put a stop to the sacri- 
fice of children at that place; but mothers 
continue to destroy their children elsewhere, 
and will continue to destroy them, until 
Christians send the G-ospel to them. It is not 
improbable that many children are annually 
destroyed in the Granges. Mothers sacrifice 
them, in consequence of the vows which they 
have made. When the time to sacrifice them 
has come, they take them down to the river, 
and encourage them to go out so far that they 
are taken away by the stream, or they push 
them off with their own hands. 



i»m 







\ii'^^^ 




THE HEATHEN MOTHER. 



Page 143. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 143 



NUMBEE XXYII. 

My Dear Children : In my last letter' I 
remarked that tlie mothers of India will con- 
tinue to destroy their children until the Gos- 
pel is sent to them. That the Gospel does 
prevent such things, the following circum- 
stance will show : Several years ago, a mis- 
sionary lady went from New-England to 
India. As she was walking out one morning, 
on the hanks of the Ganges, she saw a hea- 
then mother weeping. She went up to her, sat 
down by her side, put her hand into hers, and 
asked what was the matter with her. " I have 
just been making a basket of flags," said she, 
"and putting my infant in it, pushing it off into 
the river and drowning it, and my gods are 
very much pleased with me because I have 
done it." After this missionary lady had heard 
all she had to say, she told her that her gods 
were no gods; that the only true God dehghts 



144 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

not in sncTi sacrifices, but tnrns in horror from 
them ; and tMt if she wonld be happy here 
and hereafter, she must forsake her sins, and 
pray to Jesus Christ, who died to save sinners 
like herself. That conversation was the means 
of the conversion of that mother, and she 
never again, of course, destroyed any more 
of her infants. 

Such is the power of the blessed Gospel ; 
and what it has once done it can do again. If 
Christians will send it to them, with the bless- 
ing of Grod, the time will soon come when 
heathen-mothers will no more destroy their 
children. And have you nothing to do in 
this great work, my dear children? When 
you grow up, can not you go and tell them 
of the Saviour? Here is a pretty hymn 
about a heathen-mother throwing her child to 
a crocodile. 

See tliat heathen mother stand 
Where the sacred currents flow, 

With her own maternal hand, 
'Mid the waves her infant throw. 

Hark I I hear the piteous scream! 

Frightful monsters seize then- prey I 
Or the dark and bloodj stream 

Bears the struggling child away. 



LETTEU3 TO CIIILDREN. 145 

Fainter now and fainter still, 

Breaks the cry upon the ear ; 
But the mother's heart is steel ; 

She unmoved that cry can hear. 

Send, oh ! send the Bible there ; 

Let its precepts reach the heart ; 
She may then her children spare; 

Act the mother's tender part. 

I have heard of a little boy who learned 
this hymn. He was deeply affected by it, and 
wanted very much to give something to send 
the Grospel to India. But he had no money. 
He was, however, willing to labor to earn 
some. Hearing that a gentleman wanted the 
cliips removed from the ground near his 
wood-pile, he hired himself to him, removed 
the chips, got the money, and with glisten- 
ing eyes went and delivered it up to be sent 
to the heathen, repeating as he went: 

"Send, oh! send the Bible there; 
Let its precepts reach the heart ; 
She may then her children spare ; 
Act the mother's tender part." 

About one hundred miles above the mouth 
of the Hoogly is the city of Calcutta, and 
13 



146 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

about five linndred miles above tbat city is 
tlie city of Benares. In these cities, as well 
in otber places, we see bow mucb tbe beatben 
will contribute to support tbeir wretcbed reb- 
gion. A ricb native of Calcutta bas been 
known to spend more tban one bundred thou- 
sand dollars at a single festival — ^tbe festival of 
tbe goddess Karle — and more tban thirty thou- 
sand dollars every year afterwards during bis 
life for tbe same purpose. ISTot long since, a 
rich native gave, at one time, to his idols more 
tban one million two hundred thousand dollars. 
And what have Christians ever done to honor 
their Saviour, which will bear comparison 
with what tbe beatben do for their idols? 
Alas I alas I bow few Christian men and 
women in all tbe Church are wilbng to give 
even one tenth of their annual income to the 
Lord. Most of those who are rich hoard up 
their morj,ey instead of spending it for the pur- 
pose of saving souls. And there are many 
psESons who have never given a farthing to 
send tbe Gospel to the heathen. Oh ! what 
"wii. such say when they must meet the hea- 
then ^t tbe bar of Grod ? 




HINDOO GODDESS DDRGA. 

Pag 2 147. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 147 



NUMBEE XXYIII. 

My. Deae Children : Let me now return 
to tlie subject from wliich. I told you, in my 
thirteentli letter, tliat I would, for a little 
wMe, turn away. I will first speak of Dur- 
ga, tlie wife of Siva, a goddess wlio is much 
worshipped. She has appeared in a thousand 
forms, with a thousand, different names. Of 
all these thousand forms, Durga and Karle 
are the most regarded by the people. Dur- 
ga's Festival is the *most celebrated of all 
Eastern festivals. She has ten hands, in 
which she holds an iron club, a trident, a 
battle-axe, spears, thunder-bolts, etc. Thus 
armed, she is very ready to fight with her 
enemies. 

Were you to be present in the city of Cal- 
cutta in the month of September, you might 
everywhere see the people busy in preparing 
for the yearly festival of this goddess. Images 



148 LETTERS TO CHILDIIEX. 

representing her, you would find in great 
numbers for sale, as bread or meat is sold. 
In tlie houses of the rich, images are to be 
found made of gold, silver, brass, copper, 
crystal -stone, or mixed metal, which are 
daily worshipped. These are called perma- 
nent images. Besides these, multitudes of 
what are called temporary images are made — 
made merely for the occasion, and then de- 
stroyed. They are made of hay, sticks, clay, 
wood, etc. Their size varies from a few inches 
to twenty feet in height. If persons are too 
poor to buy their images, they can make 
images for themselves. When the festival is 
near at hand, people are seen in every direc- 
tion carrying their images to their houses. 
After they are thus supplied, the festival com- 
mences. It lasts fifteen days. The greater 
part of this time is spent in preparing for the 
three great days of the worship. Early on 
the morning of the first of the three great 
days, the Brahmins proceed to consecrate the 
images, or to give them, as they suppose, life 
and understanding. Until they are consecrat- 
ed, they are not thought to be of any value — 
they are looked upon as senseless. A wealthy 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 149 

family can always secure the services of one 
or more Brahmins, and a few of tlie poor may 
unite and secure tlie services of one of them. 
At length the solemn hour arrives. The 
Brahmin, with* the leaves of a sacred tree, 
comes near the image. With the two fore- 
fingers of his right hand he touches the 
breast, the cheeks, the eyes, and the forehead 
of the image, at each touch saying the prayer : 
"Let the spirit of Durga descend and take 
possession of this image." By such ceremo- 
nies it is supposed that the Brahmins have the 
power to bring down the goddess to take pos- 
session of the image. Having been thus con- 
secrated, it is believed to be a proper object of 
worship. Having eyes, it can now behold 
every act of worship which is made ; having 
ears, it can be delighted with music and with 
songs ; having a nose, it can smell the sweet 
perfumes which are offered ; having a mouth, 
it can be delighted with the food which is pre- 
pared for it. 

After the image is consecrated, the worship 
begins. The devotee comes near the image 
and falls down before it. He then twists him- 
self into a great variety of shapes. Sometimes 
13* 



150 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

he sits on tlie floor, sometimes lie stands, some- 
times lie looks in one direction, sometimes in 
another. Then he sprinkles the idol with 
holy water, rinses its mouth, washes its feet, 
wipes it with a dry cloth, throws flowers over 
it, puts jewels on it, perfumes it, and finishes 
bj performing shaashtaangkum. 

The worship of the idol is succeeded by a 
season of carousing, joy, and festivity. On 
this occasion, large offerings are made to the 
idols. A rich native has been known to offer 
eighty thousand pounds of sugar, eighty thou- 
sand pounds of sweetmeats, a thousand suits 
of cloth garments, a thousand suits of silk, a 
thousand offerings of rice, plantains, and other 
fruits. 

Bloody sacrifices are offered up on such oc- 
casions. The King of ISTudiya, some time ago, 
offered a large number of sheep, goats, and 
buffaloes on the first day of the feast, and vow- 
ed to double the offering every day; so that 
the whole number sacrificed amounted to more 
than sixty thousand. You may remember 
that Eang Solomon offered, upon one occasion, 
twenty-two thousand oxen, and a hundred 
-and twenty thou.sand sheep. K all the ani- 



LETTERS TO CHILDEEN. 151 

mals slain tlirongliout Hindostan, at tlie festi- 
val of Durga, were collected together, they 
would amount to a much larger number than 
Solomon offered. 

After the worship and offerings have been 
continued for three days, the festival closes. 



152 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



ISTUMBEE XXIX. 

My Deae Childeen : In my last letter I 
told you sometMng about the goddess Durga, 
tlie consecration of her image, etc. As the 
morning of the first day of her festival was 
devoted to the consecration of her images, 
the morning of the fourth is spent in unconse- 
crating them. This work is done by the Brah- 
mins. They profess, by various ceremonies, 
to send back the goddess to her heaven, con- 
cluding with a farewell address, in which they 
tell her that they expect her to accept of all 
their services, and return and pay them a 
visit again in the coming year. Then all 
unite in bidding her a sorrowful adieu, and 
many seem to be affected, even to the shed- 
ding of tears. 

Soon afterwards, the images are carried 
forth into the streets, are placed on stages or 
platforms, and raised on men's shoulders. As 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 153 

the procession moves onward throngli tlie 
streets, accompanied with, music and songs, 
amid clouds of dust, you might see them wav- 
ing long hair-brushes to wipe off the dust, 
and to keep off the flies and mosquitoes, 
which might trouble the senseless images. 
But where are these processions going ? To 
the banks of the Ganges. And for what pur- 
pose ? For the purpose of casting the imagea 
into the river. When all the ceremonies con- 
nected with the occasion are finished, those 
who * carry the images suddenly fall upon 
them, break them to pieces, and then throw 
them into the river. After this, the people 
return to their homes. A few days ago, the 
little children were seen dragging their idols 
on small cars, by the mission-house which I 
occupy, for the purpose of throwing them 
into the sea. These images were made of 
mud. 

I have now given you a specimen of the 
image-worship of the Hindoos ; and how dif- 
ferent is it from the worship which the Bible 
efijoins ! G-od is a spirit, and they who wor- 
ship him must worship him in spirit and in 
ti'uth. The very reverse of this, as you have 



154 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

seen, makes tlie worsMp of tlie heathen. 
Thej are not satisfied unless they can have 
some object before their eyes, to which they 
can make their offerings and prayers. Thus 
are they daily engaged in a service, which, 
above all others, is the most offensive and 
provoking to a holy Grod — a service which 
has caused Him to declare that idolaters shall 
not enter into the kingdom of heaven. This, 
too, is the service in which every person who 
has never given himself to the Saviour is en- 
gaged ; and, of course, in which you are en- 
gaged, if you have not given your hearts to 
him. Those who thkik more of their money 
than they think of Christ, just as certainly 
worship the image which is stamped on a dol- 
lar or a cent, as the heathen worship their 
idols. Those who love their fathers, and 
mothers, and brothers, and sisters, more than 
Christ, make them their idols. And are you, 
my dear children, yet out of Christ ? If so, 
you have your idols. And what are these 
idols ? Are they the world and its vanities, 
fondness for dress, fondness for vain partis 
of pleasure? Then God is as angry with 
you as he is with the heathen, and unless you 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 155 

give up these idols, you, too, must be lost. 
And will you not give up these idols ? Can 
any folly be greater than that of not giving 
them up ? Are they not bubbles, which may 
be broken in a moment? Besides all this, 
may you not be in eternity before another 
day has passed? Yea, even before an- 
other hour shall have fled you may be there. 
The following instance proves this: "Not 
long since," says the Eev. Mr. Wilcox, "a 
young man, in the vigor of health, with the 
fairest prospects of a long and prosperous life, 
was thrown from a vehicle, and conveyed to 
the nearest house in a state that excited in- 
stant and universal alarm for his safety. A 
physician was called. The first question of 
the wounded youth was : ' Sir, must I die ? 
Must I die ? Deceive me not in this thing.' 
His firm tone and penetrating look demanded 
an honest reply. He was told that he could 
not live more than an hour. He waked up, 
as it were, at once to a full sense of the dread- 
ful reality. ' Must I then go into eternity in 
an hour ? Must I appear before my God and 
Judge in an hour ? God knows that I have 
made no preparation for this event. I knew 



156 LETTERS TO CHILDRElir. 

that impenitent yonth were sometimes cut off 
tlins suddenly, but it never entered my mind 
that I should be one of this number. And 
now what shall I do to be saved ?' He was 
told that he must repent and believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. ' But how shall I repent 
and believe?' Here is no time to explain. 
The monster, death, will not wait for explan- 
ation. The work must be done. The whole 
business of an immortal being in this proba- 
tionary life is now crowded into one short 
liour, and that an hour of mental agony and 
distraction. Friends were weeping around, 
and running to and fro in the frenzy of grief 
The poor sufferer, with a bosom heaving with 
emotion, and with an eye gleaming with des- 
peration, continued the cry of ' What shall I 
do to be saved ?' till, in less than an hour, his 
voice was hushed in the stillness of death 1" 



LETTERS TO CIIILDHEN. 157 



NUMBEE XXX. 

My Deah Childeen : Tlie goddess Karle, 
wliose name I have already mentioned, is the 
wife of Siva, and, like her husband, has the 
power of destruction. From the images made 
of her, it would appear the she is of a black 
or dark blue color. She has four arms. In 
one hand she holds a sword, and in another a 
human head. Her hair is disheveled, reach- 
ing down to her feet. Her countenance is 
most ferocious. Her tongue comes out of her 
mouth, and hangs over her chin. She has 
three eyes, red and fiery. Her lips and eye- 
lids are streaked with blood. She has two 
dead bodies for ear-rings, and wears a girdle 
around her loins — a girdle made of bloody 
hands, which she cut off from the bodies of 
lier enemies. She has a necklace of skulls, 
which she took from the bodies of the giants 
and others killed by her. 
14 



158 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

Of all tlie Hindoo goddesses, slie is tlie most 
cruel and revengeM. Sucli is lier tMrst for 
blood, tliat being unable at one time to procure 
any giants for ber prey, in order to satisfy ber 
tbirst sbe cut ber own tbroat, tbat tbe blood 
issuing bence migbt spout into ber moutb. 
Different acts of worsbip are performed to ap- 
pease ber. If, for example, a devotee sbould 
burn bis body, by applying a burning lamp 
to it, it would be very pleasing to ber. If be 
sbould draw some of bis blood and give it to 
ber, or if be sbould cut off a piece of bis flesb 
and offer it as a burnt-offering, sbe would be 
still more pleased. If be sbould present ivhoh 
burnt-offerings upon tbe altar, saying, "Hrang, 
brang, Karle, Karle — borrid tootb goddess ! 
eat, eat ! destroy all tbe malignant ! cut witb 
tbis axe! bind, bind! seize, seize! drink tbis 
blood ! sbpeng, sbpeng ! secure, secure ! salu- 
tation to Karle !" — sbe would be mucb de- 
ligbted. It is said tbat sbe will be pleased for 
tbree montbs, if tbe people offer ber tbe blood 
of a crocodile ; for a tbousand years, if tbey 
offer ber tbe blood of one man ; and a bundred 
tbousand years, if tbey offer tbe blood of tbree. 

Tbis goddess is tbe patroness of tbieves. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 159 

To her they pay their devotions, to obtain 
help to carry on their wicked designs. Gangs 
meet together, and after having offered up 
bloody sacrifices, and worshipped their wea- 
pons, and having drunk some intoxicating li- 
quor, and rubbed their bodies with oil, they go 
forth to rob. They have a prayer which they 
offer when they worship their weapons. It is 
as follows : " instrument formed by the god- 
dess ! Karle commands thee to cut a passage 
into the house ; to cut through stones, bones, 
bricks, wood, the earth, and mountains, and 
cause the dust thereof to be carried away by 
the wind." 

This is probably the goddess to whom the 
wild Khonds, and others inhabiting the hill- 
countries of Orissa, offer up human sacrifices. 
Of these I will give you some account in my 
next letter. 

And is it possible, my dear children, that 
the followers of such divinities can go to 
heaven ? How could such ever relish its pure 
joys? What would they do, if they could be 
admitted there ? It is a charity which has no 
foundation, to suppose that the heathen can 
go to heaven. I have preached the Gospel to 



160 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

tens of thonsands of tliem — perliaps to more 
tlian a liimdred and fifty thousand — but I 
never saw one wlio had the least atom of a 
qnalification for that holy place. ' ' They have 
all gone ont of the way." Every crime which 
the Apostle Paul speaks of in the latter part 
of the first chapter of his Epistle to the Eo- 
mans, they commit, and crimes of so "dreadfal 
a nature that I can not mention them ; crimes 
which, should they be written in the Bible, 
would cause the Bible to be a sealed book for 
ever. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 161 



NUMBEE XXXI. 

My Dear Childreit: I have spoken in 
one of my former letters of Orissa, a district 
of country a few liundred miles above the city 
where I reside. In that district there are ex- 
tensive mountains, inhabited by different tribes 
of barbarians, who are in the habit — except 
when they have been prevented by the Bri- 
tish-^of offering np hnman sacrifices. Until 
of late, the Khonds of Goomsoor were num- 
bered among these sacrifices. Of these I gave 
some account when I vfas lately in America. 
I will speak of them as still offering up these 
sacrifices, though I believe that government 
has to a great extent, at least, succeeded in 
putting an end to them in this tribe. Their 
victims are stolen from the low country, or 
are sold to them. 

I will tell you how they perform their sac- 
rifices, though I should be glad not to tell you 
14^ 



162 LETTERS TO CHILDKEK. 

any thing about tliem, on account of tlieir 
cruelty. Were I not to tell you about tliem, 
you would never know liow to pity them, and 
pray and labor for them, as you should do. 
When the day which has been appointed for 
the sacrifice arrives, the Khonds assemble from 
all parts of the country, dressed in their finery, 
some with boa-skins thrown over their shoul- 
ders, others with the tails of peacocks flowing 
behind them, and the winding feather of the 
jungle-cock waving over their heads. Thus 
decked, they dance, leap, rejoice, beat drums, 
and play on an instrument not unlike in sound 
to the Highland pipe. In the afternoon the 
priest, with the aid of an assistant, proceeds 
to fasten a man, or a woman, or a boy, or a 
girl to a post, which has been firmly fixed 
in the ground. Around this post stand num- 
bers of these Khonds, with great knives in 
their hands. At an appointed signal they 
rush upon the poor creature, and try who can 
cut the first piece of flesh from his bones. 
Great value is attached to the first morsel cut 
out from his body, as it is supposed to possess 
greater virtues. This is buried in the earth 
before sunset. 



LETTERS TO CHILDRfiN. ' 163 

In Guddapoor a different sacrifice precedes 
this. A trench seven feet long is dug, over 
which a human body is suspended alive by 
the neck and feet, which are fastened to stakes 
firmly fixed in the ground at each end of the 
excavation, so that, to prevent strangulation, 
he is compelled to support himself with his 
hands over each side of his grave. The pre- 
siding priest, after the performance of various 
ceremonies in honor of their goddess, takes an 
axe and inflicts six cuts at equal distances from 
the feet to the back of the neck, repeating the 
numbers one, two, three, etc., as he proceeds, 
Eondi, Eendi, Munjee, ISTalge, Chingi, Sajgi, 
and at the seventh, Aigi, cuts off his head. 
The body falls into the pit, and is covered 
with earth. 

Had you, my dear children, been born in 
that part of India, some of you might have 
been stolen from your parents, and. taken up 
the mountains to be sacrificed by the Khonds. 
Many who have thus been taken up to be sac- 
rificed, have within the last few years been res- 
cued from them. Captain Campbell, in one 
of his communications, says: "I have been 
most fortunate in my late expedition among 



164 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

the wild Khonds of Goomsoor, and liave res- 
cued no less tlian one hundred and three cliild- 
ren, of various sizes, who were intended for 
sacrifice by these barbarians. These children 
are now at head-qu.arters, and form a most in- 
teresting group, happy, such of them as were 
aware of their situation, in having escaped the 
fate which awaited them." 

After the arrival of the British troops in 
the Khond country, a female found her way 
to the collector's camp, with fetters on her 
legs. She had escaped from those who had 
charge of her, and related that she had been 
sold by her brother for the purpose of being 
sacrificed. 

Thus, you see, my dear little girls, that if 
you had been born in some parts of this land, 
your own brothers would sell you for a dollar, 
to have all the flesh cut from your bones ; and 
if you have never yet given your hearts to 
Christ, methinks you ought to do so imme- 
diately, from gratitude to Him who has made 
you to differ from them. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 165 



NUMBEE XXXII. 

My Dear Childeen: Having given you 
some description of the Khonds, I proceed to 
remark tliat there are districts beyond theirs, 
where human sacrifices are performed in a 
different manner. Some destroy their victims 
by heavy blows from the metal bangles, 
which they purchase at the fairs, and which 
they wear on these occasions. ■ If the poor 
creature is not killed by two or three of these 
])lows inflicted on his head, they strangle him 
with a cleft bamboo, which they slip over his 
neck. Others destroy their victims by placing 
them on the ground, bound hand and foot, 
with their faces downwards, and by throwing 
large stones upon them until their lives are 
extinct. In Patna the people do not use 
much of the flesh of their victims — frequently 
none at all. In some districts they cut out 
the liver, in others, the lungs, and after chop- 



166 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

ping them up in small pieces, bury them. It 
is customary among some tribes to draw a 
cup full of blood from the body, and each 
family take a little of it and sprinkle it on the 
floor of their house. "While doing this they 
implore blessing on their household and on 
their fields. 

It was not until the military operations of 
the British took place in Upper and Lower 
Goomsoon, in 1886 and 1837, that the cruel 
rite of immolating human beings was brought 
to light among the neighboring hill-tribes; 
and it was not until that time .that the first 
victims destined for sacrifice were rescued 
from them. These were twelve in number. 
Captain Millar was the honored instrument 
in rescuing these first victims. For his serv- 
ices he received the acknowledgments of the 
Madras government, as follows : " Captain 
Millar will realize in his own mind an ample 
reward for his most commendable conduct in 
having rescued twelve victims destined for 
these horrible sacrifices; as the gratifying re- 
flection of having been the means of saving 
so many human beings from a cruel and un- 
timely death can not fail, at all times, to be a 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 167 



source of genuine happiness to him. The 
discretion, however, with which he contrived 
to eJBfect his humane purpose is entitled to the 
warmest and most unquahfied approbation of 
government." 

I am personally acquainted with Captain 
MacYiccar, a very good man, who has been 
one of the British agents "for the suppression 
of human sacrifices and female infanticide in 
the hill-tracts of Orissa." His constitution 
has been broken down by his labors on these 
unhealthy hills. I learned from him the facts 
contained in the first part of this letter, and 
also learned that the whole number of victims 
who had been rescued up to the time when 
he was in this city, in 1851, amounted to 
more than nineteen hundred. Of these, no 
less thsn five hundred weie rescued by himself 
and his assistant. Captain Fry, year before 
last. All these immortal beings must have 
been put to death in the most horrid manner, 
had it not been for the timely assistance 
afforded to them. 

I spoke in my last letter of a woman who 
escaped from the hands of the Khonds, and 
who was saved from being sacrificed by reach-. 



168 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 

ing tlie collector's camp. Let me tell you of 
another person who escaped. His name is 
Joj Sing. He had, bj stealth, witnessed one 
of the sacrifices of these barbarians. I say by 
stealth, for they never allow the victims de- 
voted to destruction to witness a sacrifice. 
He had seen a child put in the cleft of a small 
tree which had been split for this purpose. 
He had seen how the child was held fast in 
this position, by the parts of the tree pressing 
upon its body. He had also seen the flesh 
cut from its bones. You will not wonder, 
therefore, that he was filled with horror at the 
thought of meeting with such a doom. Nei- 
ther will you wonder at his determination to 
make every possible effort to free himself 
from the hands of his intended murderers. 
This effort was made, but it was at first un- 
successful. After travelHng for two days 
through the wilderness, he was recaptured by 
his owners, and put in irons. His courage, 
however, did not fail. He determined to 
make another attempt to escape, though he 
could only crawl along, in consequence of 
the irons on his legs. Thus fettered, he travel- 
led for two days and two nights, and when he 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 169 

had just reached the foot of the mountains he 
again espied those who were in pursuit of 
him. Captain Millar, of whom I have already 
spoken, was providentially encamped near the 
place where he was. To this encampment he 
hastened, as you will readily suppose, with all 
the speed which he could command, scarcely 
daring to look behind him, and reached it in 
safety. On his arrival he endeavored to make 
known his tale of woe by his looks and his 
tears ; and these looks and tears spoke a lan- 
guage which this officer could not misunder- 
stand. His irons were taken o&, and he was 
once more free. 

Joy Sing was afterwards educated, and has 
since gone back to the mountains to assist m 
building up the kingdom of Christ there. 

Have you never thought, my dear children, 
that by nature you are in a much worse situa- 
tion than was Joy Sing, when in the hands of 
his intended murderers ? They could do no- 
thing more than destroy his body ; but you are 
in the hands of one who, unless you flee from 
his grasp, as Joy Sing fled from the grasp of 
his masters, will be the means of the destruc- 
tion both of your bodies and souls for ever. 
15 



170 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

And can you think of sncli a destruction 
without horror ? Can you afford to be eter- 
nally lost ? Can you lie in the flames in this 
world for a single night ? Can you hold your 
hands in the fire for a single minute ? Oh ! if 
you are yet in the hands of the devil, flee 
from him. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 171 



ISrUMBEE XXXIII. 

My Deae Childeen: You will be glad 
to liear tliat many of the cMldren who have 
been rescued from the cruel Khonds and 
others, have been sent by the British govern- 
ment to Christian schools — schools established 
by the missionaries of the cross. Connected 
with a station near Guttach^ (see your map,) 
between Madras and Calcutta, where a very 
dear friend of mine, the Eev. Mr. Wilkinson, 
resides — a station about ten miles distant from 
the first range of mountains inhabited by the 
Khonds — ^there are two schools, one for the 
boys and the other for the girls who have 
been rescued fi?om this wretched people. From 
the friend just alluded to, I learned the follow- 
ing fact : A few years ago, a number of these 
rescued victims arrived at the gate of the mis- 
sion-house on their way to the sea-coast. The 
children of the schools went out to see them. 



172 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

Belonging to tlie female school there was a 
little girl, wlio thought that she recognized 
her brother among the strangers. In a few 
minutes she was seen coming forward, leading 
him by the hand, and was heard exclaiming,, 
with great joy, I have found my brother! 
Mr. "Wilkinson said to her: "How do yon 
know that he is your brother ? Perhaps you 
are mistaken." " Oh! no, papa," said she, "I 
am not mistaken. I thought when I saw 
him at the gate, that he looked just like a lit- 
tle brother I had when I was taken from my 
home, only he was smaller. So I said to my- 
self, if he is my brother, he will know his own 
name. So I called out, Pod, Pod, and he 
lifted up his head and came running to me." 
And this sister wept over her little brother 
and kissed him, and taking him up in her 
arms, she bore him away to her school-room. 
A thought strikes me just in this place. It 
is, that if the sister of whom I have been 
speaking was so much rejoiced in having 
found her little brother — so glad that he wa^s 
delivered from the awful death to which he 
had been exposed — how rejoiced must the 
angels of heaven be when such children aa 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



173 



you are rescued from tlie arms of tlie devil, 
and delivered from going down to that lake 
of fire and brimstone wliere the wicked are 
to weep, and wail, and gnash, their teeth for 
ever ! How rejoiced must they be when they 
see them safely folded in the arms of the 
Saviour ! Are you, my dear children, folded 
in the arms of this Saviour? If so, all is 
well with you. But if not, your great adver- 
sary, the devil, who, like a roaring lion, walk- 
eth about seeking whom he, may devour, has 
you in his possession. Can you conceive of 
any situation this side of hell which is so 
dreadful ? 



15* 



174 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



. NUMBEE XXXIY. 

My Dear Childreist : In my last letter I 
spoke of a little girl who liad found her bro- 
ther. Mr. Sutton relates the case of two 
brothers who met under similar circumstances. 
They had both been sold, at different times, 
to the Khonds, for sacrifice, by their unna- 
tural uncle. 

Among the victims formerly rescued from 
the Khonds, there was a very awkward lad, 
whom the missionaries called David, (ji-reat 
pains were taken to instruct him ; but he was 
so stupid that all their efforts appeared to be 
useless. At last he was devoted to the work 
of sweeping the premises of the mission-house. 
*At this time," says the Eev. Mr. Sutton, 
"our school was very full, and many of the 
young natives had been converted. All at 
once, a ray of intelhgence seemed to break 
upon the mind of poor David. He seemed 



LETTERS TO CHILDREJf. 175 

suddenly to be possessed of new faculties. 
All were astonished at Ms understanding and 
his answers. He now applied himself so dili- 
gently, and was profited so much by the in- 
struction afforded, that he was subsequently 
received into our church. Soon afterwards 
he was taken into the printing-office, and as 
i}.Q made rapid advances in his new business, 
he was made a compositor. While thus en- 
gaged, and interesting and amazing us all by 
his sudden proficiency, there appeared on his 
sidn numerous white spots — ^the first indica- 
tions of leprosy, a very common and also a 
very fatal disease in India. We sent him to 
the hospital, and every care was taken of him ; 
but each of the white spots became a putrid 
alcer, and his limbs were much eaten away. 
Nothing could arrest the progress of his mala- 
dy or save his life, and as there was danger 
that he might communicate his disease to 
others, by coming in contact with them, the 
doctor directed that he should be kept by him- 
self A tent was provided for him, from which 
he would creep, at service time, to the door of 
our meeting-room and join in the service. A 
more interested listener I never beheld. One 



176 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

day I went witli my wife to pay him a visit. 
He was stretched on Ms mat. His Testament 
was close to his side. His hymn-book was in 
his hand, and we saw that his attention had 
been riveted on the following verses : 

' Of all that decks the field or bower, 
Thou art the fairest, sweetest flower ; 
Then, blessed Jesus, let not me 
In thy kind heart forgotten be. 

' Day after day youth's joys decay ; 
Death waits to seize the trembling prey ; 
Then, blessed Jesus, let not me 
In thy kind heart forgotten be.' 

" When we left the tent my wife said to me, 
with great emphasis and emotion : ' There lies 
an heir of glory ; for though, like Lazarus, he 
is full of sores, like Lazarus, also, he is rich in 
assured hope.' I could not but concur in the 
parable." 

Soon afterwards, the spirit of this afflicted 
but happy youth took its flight, as we have 
good reason to believe, to the bosom of his 
Saviour, rescued by the British government 
from the hands of the cruel Khonds, and res- 
cued from eternal torment, in consequence of 



LETTERS, TO CHILDREN-. 177 

liis having been sold to them for tlie purpose 
of being sacrificed. How mysterious are tlie 
ways of Providence ! 

Should it be the sad lot of any of you, my 
dear children, not to reach heaven at last, 
what will you say in the day of judgment, 
when you find this youth among the company 
of the redeemed, but yourselves among the 
company of the lost ! Oh ! that word lost ! 
that dreadful, that dism^al word, lost! What 
a living scorpion will it be to your deathless 
souls " for ever !" 

But let me hope different things. Let me 
liope that you are not to be lost. If, however 
I am to entertain such a hope, there must be 
a change in you as great as is the change from 
death to life — a change firom sin to holiness. 
You might as well expect to go down to the 
sea, and dwell beneath the surface of its wa- 
ters, as to expect to go to heaven in your pre- 
sent unconverted state. You must be born 
again, or you can never enter into the kingdom 
of God. Christ, who is now to you as a root 
out of dry ground, and in whom you see no 
form nor comeliness, must become the supreme 
object of your desires. Him you must esteem 



178 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

as the cHefest among ten tliousandj and alto- 
getlier lovelj. To him you 'must make an 
entire consecration of yonrselves. Alas! alas! 
that you should have slighted him so long. 
Alas ! that when he has come to the door of 
your hearts, and knocked for admittance, you 
should have treated him as you have done — 
treated him with an incivility which you would 
blush to use even to me. 

My dear children, I can not bear the thought 
of your continuing in rebellion against your 
Saviour for another hour. Only think of his 
love to perishing sinners ! Think of what he 
had to undergo and suffer to procure their 
salvation ! To purchase this salvation he had 
to tread his weary way to the tomb, with no 
one to accompany him ; to tread it through 
tears and groans, and under the edge of the 
sword of Divine justice. He was trodden, as 
it were, in the wine-press of the fierceness of 
the wrath of Almighty God. He was crown- 
ed with thorns, that they might be crowned 
kings in his Father's dominions. He was con- 
demned at the bar, that they might not be con- 
demned at the tribunal of the last da}^. He 
died that they might live. And can you think 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 179 



of this love and your hearts not be melted ? 
Can jou see no beauty in Jesus, that you 
should desire him ? Are your eyes holden, 
that you can not behold his all-attractive 
charms ? I have been giving you a descrip- 
tion of the wretched Khonds. Suppose that 
you were among them, and that you were 
now in the same condition with the little child 
of whom I have made mention — ^the little child 
who was placed in the cleffc of a spht tree for 
the purpose of having the flesh cut from its 
bones ; and suppose that that good man, the 
agent of the British government, should come 
and rescue you from such a fearful death — 
would you not love him to the end of your 
lives ? Would any thing be too hard for you 
to do for such a friend ? And did Jesus come 
down from heaven to save sinners from being 
cast into everlasting burnings; and is he 
stretching out his hand and entreating you 
to grasp it, that you may be saved from this 
dreadful doom, and will you not grasp it and 
be saved ? And will you not love him much 
for such kindness — love him to such a de- 
gree that nothing will be too hard for you 
to do to glorify him? What, not love that 



180 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

Saviour who stands readj to save you from 
eternal death, wlien you would love your fel- 
low-men for saving you from a temporal 
death? 

Oh I that all the blind but knew Ilkn, 
And would be advised by me ! 

Surely would they hasten to him ; 
He would cause them all to see. 



LETTERS TO CIIILDREX. 181 



NUMBBK XXXV. 

My Deae Children : Perhaps you will 
be surprised to hear that the cow is a promi- 
uent object of worship among the Hindoos. 
Brumha, it is said, created the Brahmins, or 
priests, and the cow at the same time — ^the 
former to read their Scriptures, the latter to 
afford milk for the burnt-offerings. The cow 
is called the mother of gods. She is worship- 
ped annually. 'No image is used. The wor- 
ship is performed in a cow-house, before a jar 
of water. On tLe thirteenth of Phalgoonee 
the milkmen paint the horns of their cattle 
and bathe them in the river. A few persons, 
who are very strict in their religion, worship the 
cow daily. After bathing, they throw flowers 
at her feet and feed her vfith fresh grass, say- 
ing, "O Bhuguvutee! eat." After this they 
walk around her, sometimes even to the sev- 
enth time, making obeisance to her. 

If a man sell his cow, the sacred book 
16 



1§2 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

threatens him witli the torments of hell, for 
as many thousand years as there are ha,irs on 
his body. If her owner does not burn cow- 
dung in the cow-house to raise a smoke and 
keep off the mosquitoes from biting her, he 
will descend into the hell of mosquitoes and 
gad-flies. The holy ashes, which the Hindoos 
rub on their bodies, is nothing but burnt cow- 
dung. It may not be amiss to mention here, 
that cow-dung is gathered and dried for fael, 
and in this respect is very useful where wood 
is scarce. 

The black-faced monkey is worshipped by 
the Hindoos on their birth-day, to obtain long 
life, which they suppose he can bestow, as he 
is immortal. In some temples, his image, 
alone, is set up. Those who worship him are 
promised every gratification which they can 
desire. By many he is considered as their 
guardian god. 

Many years ago the King of Nudeeya spent 
nearly fifty thousand dollars in marrying two 
monkeys ; when all the parade common at 
BLindoo marriages was exhibited. In the 
marriage procession were seen elephants, cam- 
els, horses, palanquins, lamps, and flambeaus. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN'. 183 

The male monkey was fastened in a fine 
palanquin, having a crown on his head, with 
men standing by his side to fan him. Then 
followed singing and dancing-girls in carriages. 
There was at the same time a grand display of 
fire-works. Dancing, singing, and every de- 
gree of low mirth were exhibited at the bride- 
groom's palace for twelve days together. 

The jackal is worshipped, as a form of the 
goddess Dnrga, by all who worship the god- 
desses. The offerings made on such occasions 
are put on a clean place, and the god is called 
upon to come and partake of them. In tem- 
ples dedicated to Durga, a stone image of the 
jackal is placed on a pedestal, and daily wor- 
shipped. When a jackal passes a Hindoo, he 
must bow to it, and if it passes on the left 
hand, it is considered to be very lucky. Other 
animals, such as the dog, the buffalo, the rat, 
and the goat are also worshipped. 

I have previously told you that the Hindoos 
a,re worshippers of rivers. The following is a 
prayer which is offered by them to the Granges: 
goddess ! the owl that lodges in the hollow 
of a tree on thy banks is exalted beyond mea- 
sure, while the Emperor whose palace is far 



184 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

from thee, tliougli lie possess a million of 
stately elephants, and may liave the wives of 
millions of conquered enemies to serve him, is 
nothing. 

The sacred books of the Hindoos are wor- 
shipped with the same ceremonies as an idol. 
They anoint them with perfumes at such times, 
and adorn them with garlands. At the read- 
ing of any part of the vades the worshipper 
thus prays to the book : book ! thou art the 
goddess of learning. Bestow learning upon us. 

Stones, as I have before told you, are wor- 
shipped. "Wood is also worshipped. There 
is what is called The Pedal, a favorite object 
of worship. It is a rough piece of wood, gen- 
erally the trunk of a tree, balanced on a pivot, 
with a head something like a mallet. It is 
used to separate the rice from the husk, to 
pound brick-dust for buildings, etc. A person 
stands at the farthest end, and with his feet 
presses it down, which raises up the head; 
after which he lets it fall upon the rice or 
pieces of brick. 

Several years ago, one of the native kings 
spent more than a hundred thousand dollars 
at a festival in honor of this log of wood. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 185 



NUMBEE XXXYI. 

My Deae Childeen: I have already 
mentioned tliat tlie Yidas, tlie most sacred 
of Hindoo books, are worshipped. In these 
books are laid down forms of religious wor- 
ship which are designed to injnre or destroy 
their enemies. When a person wishes to have 
his enemy destroyed, he goes to a Brahmin or 
priest, and secures his supposed aid. The 
Brahmin, before he proceeds to his work, 
clothes himself with a black garment. He 
also makes four images of the foe, and clothes 
them with black garments. He then kindles 
a sacrificial fire, and after the performance of 
various ceremonies, he takes pieces of some 
animal which has been consecrated for this 
purpose, and throws them into this fire on 
every occasion; when he makes this burnt- 
offering, he touches the mouth of the image 
of this enemy, uttering one or the other of the 
16* 



186 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

forms of prayer wMcli are written in tlie sacred 
books. Of tliese tlie following are a few: " 
Agnil" Grod of fire, ^'tliou wlio art tlie moiitli 
of all tlie gods, do tliou destroy the wisdom of 
my enemy. O Agni ! fill with distraction the 
mind of this my enemy. O Agni ! destroy the 
senses of this my enemy. O Agni! make 
dumb the mouth of this my enemy. Agni ! 
fasten with a peg the tongue of this my enemy. 
Agni! reduce to ashes this my enemy." "0 
Agni! all the gods are centred in thee. Do 
thou render propitious the judge who is to 
decide between me and this enemy. Agni ! 
make this judge the enemy of my enemy." 

In this manner, he must continue the sacri- 
fice for fifteen days and nights. In the darkest 
part of the night, he must place a lamp near 
the altar, and thus address it: "O lamp! as the 
insect attracted by thee, falls into the blaze, 
so let my enemy be overthrown in the seat of 
judgment." 

How different, my dear children, is the re- 
ligion of Jesus from the religion of the Hin- 
doos. No precepts of the Bible teach us that 
we may injure or destroy our enemies. On 
the contrary they teach us to love them and 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 187 

do them good. Let me quote for you some 
of the words spoken bj our Saviour on this 
point: "You have heard that it hath been 
said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate 
thine enemy : but I say unto you, love your 
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good 
to them that hate you, and pray for them that 
despitefuUy use you and persecute you, that 
ye may be the children of your Father which 
is in heaven, for he maketh his sun to rise on 
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on 
the just and on the unjust." 

I not long since read of a little girl who 
was acquainted with her Bible, and who 
showed that she felt her obligation to obey it. 
One day she came to her mother much pleased, 
to show her some fruit which had been given 
to her. Her mother said that the friend was 
very kind and had given her much. " Yes," 
said the child, " very kind; and she gave me 
more than that, but I have given some away." 
The mother inquired to whom she had given 
it. She answered: " I gave it to the girl who 
pushes me off the path and makes faces at me." 
On being asked why she had given it to her, 
one of the reasons which she mentioned for 



188 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

having done so, was in tlie following words : 
" Because I tlionght it wonld make her know 
that I wished to be kind to her." 

To this narrative it is added : "A tear stood 
in the eye of little Charles, and he promised 
his mother to try and do so too." 

One of the yonng Hindoos in Dr. DufP's 
school in Calcutta, when reading the quotations 
which I a moment ago made from the Sermon 
on the Mount, and similar passages, was so 
struck with the difference between these pre- 
cepts and the precepts of his shasters, that he 
could not but exclaim : " Oh ! how beautiful, 
how divine ! Surely this is the truth — ^this is 
the truth!" The consequence was, that he 
could never rest until he had thrown aside his 
sacred books and his idols, and embraced that 
Saviour whose precepts appeared to him to be 
so beautiful. 

And was this heathen so struck with the 
beauty of the precepts of the Bible, so struck 
that he had no peace until he gave himself to 
his Saviour ? And have you ever, my dear 
children, been struck with the precepts of your 
Saviour ? so struck with them that you could 
never rest until you had given up your heart 
to him? 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 189 

You should be most careful, my dear cMld- 
ren, never to give place, even for a moment, 
to a revengeful spirit. Sucli a spirit often 
leads to the most disastrous consequences in 
this world, and, I need hardly add, that when 
unrepented of, it must inevitably be attended 
mth the loss of the soul for ever in the world 
to come. One of the most appalling mstances 
when I ever read of a revengeful spirit is the 
following : 

" We have all heard," says the Boston Re- 
corder^ '^ of the Spaniard, who having disarm- 
ed his enemy, obliged hun, on condition that 
his life should be spared, to renounce his reli- 
gion and blaspheme his Eedeemer, and then 
deliberately plunged the sword into his bosom, 
saying that it would have been a poor revenge 
merely to put him to death. He had now 
insured his eternal damnation." I heard this 
same anecdote related by the late venerable 
Dr. Milledoler, at a meeting which I attended 
about forty years ago in Garden street in the 
city of New York ; and as this event must 
have happened at least forty years ago, in all 
probability the murderer and the murdered 
have met, long ere this, in the world of woe, 



190 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

there to be tormentors of eacL. other for ever 
and for ever. Oh ! what an awful place would 
hell be, if filled up only with such spirits as 
that to which I have now been directing your 
attention ! 

Allow me, my dear children, to repeat what 
I have just said — namely, that you will never 
give pl_a.ce, even for a moment, to a wrongful 
spirit. 

Eepress the very first risings of it. Alas ! 
how many have destroyed not only their own 
happiness but the happiness of others by it. 
How many have been brought to the gallows 
by it. How many have by it been lost for 
ever. Think of the little girl of whom I have 
just been making mention. How much hap- 
pier was she, than she would have been had 
she manifested an unkind spirit towards her 
who had been treating her badly. But the 
grand reason why you should not entertain a 
revengeful spirit is, because Grod has forbidden 
it. He mahetli Ms sun to rise on the evil as well 
as on the good. He sendeth rain upon the un- 
just as well as upon the just. I need hardly 
add, after all I have said, that the same spirit 
which dwells in the bosom of Jehovah must 
dwell in yours also. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 191 

I should be very glad, if each of jou woiild 
commit to memory the following two verses 
and often thirLk: of them. 

Forgive thy foes — not that alone, 
Their evil deeds with good repay ; 
!Pill them with joy, who leave thee none, 
And kiss the hand upraised to slay. 

So does the fragrant sandal bow, 
In meek forgiveness to its doom; 
And o'er the axe at every blow 
Sheds in abundance, rich perfume. 



192 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE XXXYII. 

My Deae Childken : The people of India 
are very superstitious. Let me mention a few 
instances of their superstition. It is said that 
no act, however good it may be, if performed 
on Sunday, will succeed. Some will not eat 
at all on Sunday, until they have seen a cer- 
tain bird — ^the bird on which the god Yishnoo 
rides. If a man rubs oil on his head on Mon- 
day and bathes, he will commit a sin equal to 
the sin of destroying a temple of Siva. If he 
has his hair cut on Tuesday, he will become 
poor. Even to worship the gods on Wednes- 
day is bad. If a person takes medicine 
on Thursday, his sickness will be increased. 
Should he lend any thing on Friday, he will 
lose his property. If he should buy a new 
cloth on Saturday, take it home and keep it 
in his house, death may be the consequence. 
Should he die on this day, some other member 
of the family will die on the following week. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 193 

If the foundation of a house is laid in June, 
the destruction of that house will follow. 
Should a family enter a new house in March, 
some member of the family will die. If a 
marriage is celebrated in September, the hus- 
band and wife will fight each other. Should 
a vulture alight on a house, some evil will 
befall those who are living in it. K a crow 
should strike any person on his head with 
its wings, some of his relations will die. 
Should a cat or a snake cross his path, it 
would be an indication of evil. In the latter 
case one of his relations will die. If when re- 
turning home a person should meet him, bear- 
ing a light, a quarrel will be the result. 

After a person has left his house, should he 
meet a single Brahmin, or a woman who has 
had her head shaved, or a washman, or a bar- 
ber, the business for which he left would not 
succeed. Or, when going out, should he butt 
his head against the top of the door-frame, or 
should any one ask him where he was going, 
or should he happen to sneeze, he would con- 
sider these things as hindrances to his going 
out, and reenter his house. 

Should a son or a daughter be bom on the 
17 



194 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

new moon in April, they will become tMeves. 
If a person is born under the planet Saturn, 
Ms wife, son, and friends will be destroyed. 

If a person dreams that a monkey bas bit 
Mm, be will die in six montbs ; or if be dreams 
tbat bed-bugs in large numbers are creeping 
over Mm, to bite Mm, be will die in eigbt 
days. Should be dream tbat a dog has bitten 
Mm, be will die in tMee years ; or should he 
dream that a dead person has appeared to him 
and spoken to Mm, he will die immediately. 
If a man has a little head, he will become rich. 
If he has a large head, he will be poor. If his 
forehead is wide, he will live a hundred 
years. K he has a small neck, he will be a 
murderer. If the second toe is long, he will 
be a bad man. If a woman has curly hair, she 
will not prosper. If her nose is long, she will 
have a good disposition. If her ear is wide, 
she will tell falsehoods. If she has a mole on 
her nose, she will be subject to anger ; if on 
her lips, she will be learned ; if on the eye- 
brows, she will be cunmng. 

Pages might be filled with things of the 
same description, but I will mention only one 
instance more. On a certain night in the 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 195 

month, of Noyember, the people -will not look 
at the moon. The reason assigned for this is 
as follows: Once, wlien the elephant-faced 
god, Pnllian, was dancing before the gods, the 
moon happening to see him, laughed at him, 
and told hun that he had a large stomach, an 
ear like a winnowing-fan, etc. This so en- 
raged him, that lie cursed her. This curse 
was inflicted on the night above mentioned. 

How does the wretchedness of a people, both, 
in reference to the things of this world and of 
the world to come, show itself where the Bible 
is unknown. If this blessed book were not an 
inspired book, if it did no more than remove 
the temporal miseries of man, how invaluable 
would it be ; of how much more value then is 
it, in reference to the removal of their spirit- 
ual miseries ? 

Oh! why is it, that Christians have not long 
since sent the Grospel to them ? "Why is it 
that they do not send it to them now f This 
is a mystery which we must leave to be un- 
ravelled at the judgment-seat of the last day. 
My dear children, you are to stand before that 
judgment-seat. Shall any of these heathen 
among whom I dwell, rise up at that awful 



196 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

season, stretch out their hands towards you, 
and say: There stand the children who 
might have sent us the Bible ; but they did 
not send it, and now we must be lost, lost 

for ever f 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



197 



NUMBEE XXXYIII. 

My Dear Children : I said sometMng to 
you, in one of my former letters, about tlie 
transmigration of souls ; that is, that one 
soul passes into the body of another person, 
etc. The following quotations on this sub- 
ject are from a native work, called Kurmuvi- 
pakee : 

He that destroys a thing which is to be of- 
fered up in sacrifice will be punished in hell. 
Afterwards he will be born again, and remain 
a fish for three years. Then he will be born 
a man. He who kills an enemy subdued in 
war, will be cast into one of the hells; after 
which he will become a bull, a tiger, a fish, a 
man. In the last state he will die with the 
palsy. He who eats good food without giving 
any of it to others will be punished in hell for 
thirty thousand years, and then be born a 
muskrat, then a deer, then a man who prefers 
17* 



198 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

bad to good food. He wlio refuses to give 
his father and mother the food they desire, 
will be punished in hell, and afterwards be 
born a crow, then a man. In the latter birth 
he will not relish any food. The stealer of a 
water-pan will be born an alligator, and after- 
wards a man of monstrous size. He who Mils 
an animal not designed for sacrifice will, in 
the form of a turtle, be punished in hell, then 
be born a bull, and then a man afflicted with 
an incurable distemper. He who kills a,n 
animal by holding its breath will, after en- 
during various torments, be born a snake, then 
a tiger, a cow, a white heron, a crow, and a 
man having the asthma. He who steals alms 
will sink into hell, and afterwards be born a 
blind man, afflicted with the consumption. 

Manu says that the slayer of a Brahmin 
must enter, according to the circumstances of 
his crime, the body of a dog, a boar, an ass, a 
camel, a bull, a goat, a sheep, a stag, a bird. 
A priest who has drunk spirituous liquors 
shall migrate in the form of a worm or insect, 
a moth, or a fly feeding on filth or some raven- 
ous animal. He who steals the gold of a 
priest shall pass a thousand times into the 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 199 

bodies of spiders, of snakes, of cliameleons, of 
crocodiles, and other water-monsters, or of 
miscHevous blood-sucking demons. They 
who taste what ought not to be tasted, will be 
born maggots or flies. 

One of the Puranas or sacred books de- 
clares that a person whose soul goes into a 
being lower than a man passes through eight 
millions of births among inferior creatures 
before he can again be born a man. Of these, 
he remains two millions one hundred thousand 
births among the immovable pa,rts of creation, 
as stones, and trees, and so forth ; nine hun- 
dred thousand births among the watery tribes ; 
one million of births among insects, worms, 
etc. ; one million of births among the birds, 
and three millions among the beasts. 

That the Hindoos beUeve in transmigration 
often appears from their conversation. When 
a person is in deep sorrow for the loss of a 
child, and is addressed by another, the former 
perhaps will say: " What have I done that I 
am thus grievously af&icted? When I ex- 
a,mine my life from my childhood I can not 
see that I have done any harm. Why, then, 
does God thus afflict me ? Why did he give 



200 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

me a child ? "Why did lie take it awaj ?" 
Slie next vents lier grief in a torrent of abuse 
upon Yama, tlie king of the different hells. 
" Yama ! what did I do to thee ? I am sure 
I never injured thee. Thou knowest that I 
had none else. I am in this world like a 
blind creature. The child was my staff, and 
thou hast taken him away. thou wicked 
Yama ! I will put a wisp of fire in thy face. 
I will flay the broom." Another female now 
joins her and says : " sister I What ! is your 
child gone? Ah! ah! ah! that vile Yama ! 
He is full of injustice. If I could see him I 
would cut him in a thousand pieces." An- 
other person comes in and says : " "Why do you 
blame Yama ? "What fault has he done ? In 
former births you must have committed many 
crimes, otherwise I can not see why you should 
suffer in this dreadful manner. You have 
done nothing but works of merit in this birth. 
You must have injured some one's child in a 
former birth, and now yours is taken away 
from you." 

If a person dies an untimely death, this is 
attributed to crimes committed in a former 
state of existence. A person who is born 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN'.. 201 

blind is supposed to have destroyed tlie eyes 
of some one in a former birtli. Of sncli an 
one tlie people will say : " Ah ! no doubt that 
man was guilty in a former birth of such and 
such a crime, and now the consequences ap- 
pear in his present state." 

If persons are suddenly prosperous, fre- 
quently remarks are made about them as to 
their merits in a former birth. " He must," 
they say, "have performed acts of extraordi- 
nary merit in former births, or he could not 
have so suddenly risen to such a state of afflu- 
ence." 

"When the Hindoos see animals used cruel- 
ly, especially cows, they exclaim : " Ah ! how 
many sins must that creature have committed 
in a former birth!" When they see a dog 
riding with his master in a palanquin, they 
say : " True, thou art born a dog, but some 
good works have made thy fate tolerable." 



202 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE XXXIX. 

My Dear Children: Tlie Hindoos fre- 
quently consult astrologers, or persons who 
profess to tell them what will happen here- 
after &om the appearances and situation of the 
stars. Of these astrologers they ask such ques- 
tions as the following : " Will an article which 
has been bought for sale produce profit or 
not ?" " Will a lawsuit be decided in a per- 
son's fayor or not ?" " Will a person be pros- 
perous or not in a new house which he is 
building?" "Will a person's death happen 
in a holy place or not ?" " Will a person 
have a long or short life ?" etc. 

This country also has its witches, whose 
supposed power is much dreaded. They gen- 
erally are old women. Amongst other things, 
it is said that while sitting near another they 
are able, imperceptibly, to draw the blood out 
of his body, and by a look to make a person 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 203 

mad. If a witch shakes lier hair in a field at 
night, it is said that a miniber of witches im- 
mediately assemble and dance, and play, and 
skip about as long as they choose, and that 
if any one comes within the magic circle 
he is snre to fall a victim to their power. 
When a person falls suddenly sick, or is seized 
with some new disorder, they impute their ill- 
ness to witchcraft. 

The Hindoos have the strongest faith in en- 
chantments or incantations. There is one in- 
cantation which, it is said, empowers an arrow 
shot into a tree to make it wither immediately. 
Many women wear written incantations, in 
order to obtain particular blessings. They 
wear these charms on their arms, or around 
their necks, or in their hair, inclosed in small 
gold or brass boxes. Incantations are repeat- 
ed when the people retire to rest ; when they 
rise up ; when they set their feet on the ground ; 
when they clean their teeth ; when they eat ; 
when it thunders ; when their heads ache ; 
when they put on new clothes ; when they 
want to kill or injure a supposed enemy ; when 
they wish to cure the scab in sheep. If dis- 
eases are not cured by incantations, and the 



204 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

person dies, thej saj that tlie words of tTie in- 
cantation were pronounced incorrectly, or a 
word was left out. 

Men wlio keep snakes and exliibit tliem to 
the public, pretend, bj incantation, to destroy 
the power of poison, after they have permitted 
them to bite them. ISTotwithstanding these 
incantations, however, sometimes the virus 
spreads through their veins, and the poor crea- 
tures, writhing in agony, are hurried into 
eternity. 

After having read the contents of the above, 
and many of my preceding pages, perhaps 
you are ready to exclaim. Is it possible that 
the Hindoos can be guilty of such folly as to 
believe what has been stated? But their folly, 
my dear children, will scarcely bear a com- 
parison with yours, so long as you withhold 
your affections from Christ. You are lost in 
astonishment at their folly. How must all 
holy beings be lost in astonishment at yours ! 
Especially what must be the feelings of the 
angelic host when they see you as totally re- 
gardless of the Saviour as if he had never 
come into this world on the errand of mercy — 
as totally neglectful of securing an interest in 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 205 

him as if there were no hell, no lake of fire 
and brimstone into which yon are momently 
in danger of falling ! And when those holy 
beings also see the efforts which, from time to 
time, are put forth for your salvation; but 
which are put forth in vain — especially when 
they see the ministers of the Grospel running, 
as it were, between you and the awful abyss 
which is before you, and hear how earnestly 
they entreat you not to destroy yourselves, 
but entreat you to no purpose ; to what a height 
must their wonder and astonishment rise! 
And if you, over whom so many even of the 
tears of the Eedeemer have been shed, should 
eventually be lost, how mysterious will your 
conduct appear to yourselves ! When the 
prison of despair shall have closed its doors 
upon you, and when an eternity will be given 
to you for reflection, with what horror will 
you look back upon the maddening course 
which you pursued while in this world! 
How overwhelmingly awful will the thought 
be, that you waded down to destruction, as it 
were, through the very blood of the Son of 
Grod! Ah! it is this thought — the thought 
that you dipped your feet in the blood of the 
18 



206 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



Lamb, wliicli will then tear tlie caul of your 
heart in pieces, and it is this thought which 
will for ever be furnishing new food to the 
worm which dieth not, and which will be add- 
ing fresh fuel to the fire which is never to 
be quenched. Alas ! alas 1 that it should be 
so. "0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would 
I have gathered thy children together, even as 
a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, 
and ye would not !" 

The Son of Grod in tears! What a sight! 
Oh I methinhs that if any thing could melt your 
hearts, it would be such a sight as this. But 
even this makes no impression. Alas ! what 
is man without the influences of the Holy 
Spirit? 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 207 



N U MB E E XL. 

My Dear Children : The Hindoos liave 
many law-books. Let me give you some 
quotations from one or more of them : If a 
man speak reproachfully of a magistrate, the 
latter is to cut out his tongue and banish him. 
A Brahmin, whatever his crime may be, is 
not to be put to death. The fines and punish- 
ments for the high-caste natives are much less 
than for persons of low caste, the Brahmin 
being lightly dealt with, while the Sudra 
must suffer heavily for the slightest offense 
against a Brahmin. This the following quo- 
tations will show : If a man deprive another 
of life, he shall suffer death ; but if a Brah- 
min does this, he shaU be fined. For striking 
a Brahmm, a Sudra's hand is to be cut off; for 
speaking against him, his tongue is to be cut 
out ; for spitting upon him, his lips are to be 
cut off. A man of high caste may strike one 



208 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

of low caste, if lie offends Mm, without being 
exposed to pimislinient. 

For killing a goat, a horse, or a camel, it is 
directed tliat one hand and one foot of the 
offender shall be cut off. If a person show a 
disposition to sell by false weights, or use 
deceit in selling his goods, his ear, nose, and 
hand must be cut off. False coiners must 
have the hand, the nose, and the teeth broken. 
The house-breaker must have both of his 
hands cut off, and be otherwise punished. 
The highway robber is to be strangled. The 
stealer of a man of high caste is to be roasted 
alive ; of a woman of middling caste, to have 
both his hands and feet cut off, and to be cast 
out into a highway where four roads meet ; 
of a man of low caste, he is to be fined. The 
stealer of an elephant or a horse, in time of 
war, is to be put to death ; if in time of peace, 
a hand and a foot must be cut off. For steal- 
ing a goat or a sheep, a hand is to be cut off. 
For stealing a weasel or cat, half of the foot 
is to be cut off. A thief, when caught in 
breaking through an inclosure, is, for the first 
offense, to have a finger cut off; for the se- 
cond, his hand and foot ; for the third, he is 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 209 

to be put to death. For stealing flowers, 
fruit, wood, or grass, from a Bralimin, tlie 
hand is to be cut off. A Bralimin, for com- 
mitting a robbery, if lie has been accustomed 
to offer a burnt sacrifice daily, is to have his 
head shaved, which is equivalent to the loss 
of caste. If a man sets fire to a granary, he 
must be burnt alive. Should a Brahmin eat 
garlic or onions, he is to be banished from his 
country. If a Sudra, or low-caste man, read 
the Yedas, or Sacred Scriptures, he must have 
boiling oil poured into his throat ; if he hears 
them read, he must have it poured into his 
ears ; if he commits them to memory, he is to 
be put to death. 

If a man causes a Brahmin to drink wine, 
he is to be put to death. A woman who mur- \ 
ders her husband or child, must have her ears, 
nose, hands, and lips cut off, and must then be 
devoured by dogs. 

A bad wife is to be made a slave or a cook 
to some idol. A woman is not allowed to go 
out of the house without the consent of her 
husband. She must not talk with a stranger, 
nor laugh without a veil over her face. She 
must not swallow any thing but medicine till 
18^ 



210 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

she sliall have served others. She must not 
go to the house of a stranger, nor stand at 
the door, nor look out at the window. She 
may give her body to be burnt with the corpse 
of her husband. 

I have now given you a specimen of Hin- 
doo law. May I not remind you, my dear 
children, of a law of a much more awful 
nature than any to which I have now been 
directing your attention ? I allude to the law 
which was given on Sinai's mount — a law by 
which you are condemned to be cast into a 
burning, fiery furnace, there to be tormented 
day and night for ever. But, though thus 
condemned, there is a Friend through whoso 
merits and intercession you may be pardoned. 
And who is this Friend ? Jesus. And do 
not your very hearts leap for joy that you 
have such a Friend? And if you have 
hitherto slighted this your best Friend, will 
you slight him any more ! Forbid it, ye 
great drops of blood which flowed down from 
the hands, and feet, and side of the Eedeemer ! 
But perhaps you will continue to slight him. 
Perhaps you will think it well to put off the 
consideration of this momentous subject to a 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 211 

more convenient time. If sucli a thoiiglit is 
passing through your minds, cast it out at 
once. Oh! cast it out, I entreat you. Ko 
more harbor it for a moment than you would 
harbor the deadly adder in your bosoms. 
Kemember that a more convenient season may 
never arrive. You may, for aught you know, 
die to-day. But even should you live for many 
years to come, you have no reason to believe 
that you will have as convenient a season as at 
present. Your hearts will grow harder and 
harder, and of course you will find it more 
and more difficult to give up all for the Saviour. 
Look at the aged. Are they more ready to 
seek Him, after having spent fifty or sixty 
years in sin, than they were when young? 
The reverse is, in general, the case. Besides, 
you do not know that God will continue to 
hold out any encouragement for you to come 
to him after this very moment. " My Spirit," 
he declares, "shall not always strive with 
man." Many are the sad monuments of his 
desertion. Let me give an instance for your 
warning : 

" I was once called," says a venerable clergy- 
man, " to visit a young lady who was said to 



212 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

he in despair. She had, at some time previous, 
been serious, and had, as it was hoped, reso- 
lutely set her face Zionward. In an evil hour 
some of her associates, gay, pleasure-loving 
young ladies, called on her to accompany 
them to a ball. She refused to go. The oc- 
casion, the company, the parade, and gayety 
were all utterly dissonant with her present 
feelings. With characteristic levity and 
thoughtlessness, they urged her, ridiculed her 
Methodism, railed at the cant and hypocrisy 
of her spiritual guides, and finally so far pre- 
vailed that, with a desperate effort to shake off 
her convictions, and regain her former carnal 
security, she exclaimed : ' Well^ I will go if I 
am damned for it /' Grod took her at her word. 
The blessed Spirit immediately withdrew his 
influences, and instead of the anxious sigh and 
longing desire to be freed from the body of 
sin and of death, succeeded by turns the calm- 
ness and horrors of despair. The wretched 
victim knew that the Spirit had taken his 
final leave. No compunction for sin, no tears 
of penitence, no inquiries after God, no eager 
seeking of the place where Christians love to 
meet now occupied the tedious hours. Instead 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 213 

of the bloom and freslmess of healtli there 
came the paleness and haggardness of decay. 
The wan and sunken cheek, the ghastly, glar- 
ing eye, the emaciated limb — the sure precur- 
sors of approaching dissolution — were there. 
The caresses of friends, the suggestions of 
affection all were unheeded. The consolations 
of piety — ^the last resource of the miserable — 
were to her but the bitterness of death. In 
this state of mind I was called to visit her. 
When I entered the room where she was, and 
beheld her, pale and emaciated, and reflected 
that the ravages of her form without but faint- 
ly shadowed forth the wreck and desolation 
within, I was almost overpowered. Never 
had I conceived so vivid an idea of the woe 
and misery of those who had ' quenched the 
Spirit.' I proposed prayer. The word threw 
her into an agony. She utterly refused. No 
entreaties of friends, no arguments drawn from 
the love of Grod — from the fullness and free- 
ness of atoning blood — oould prevail to shake 
her resolution. I left her without having been 
able to find a single avenue to her heart, or to 
dart one ray of comfort into that dark bosom 
which, to all human view, was soon to be en- 



214 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

veloped in the blackness of darkness for ever. 
Never sliall I forget the dreadful expression 
of that ghastly coTintenance, the tones of that 
despairing voice. The impression is as vivid 
as though it had been but yesterday. Oh ! that 
all the young, gay, thoughtless ones who 
stifle the convictions of conscience and repress 
the rising sigh ; who dance along on the brink 
of utter reprobation and despair, would read 
and lay to heart the warning which the last 
hours and death of this young lady are calcu- 
lated so forcibly to give." 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 215 



I^UMBBE XL I. 

My Dear Childrejst: As I have spoken 
of tlie law-books of tlie Hindoos, it maj le 
well to say a word or two relative to their 
medical department. The country abounds 
with physicians, and the books which treat of 
medicine are numerous. Many of the valu- 
able medicines, such as camphor, musk, etc., 
are used by Hindoo physicians, and some 
compounds are made which I think that you 
would not be much disposed to swallow. 
Take, for instance, a medicine prepared from 
the poison of the cobra capella. It is thus 
described : Having seized one of these snakes 
and extracted the poison to the amount of 
half a tola, mix and boil it in forty pounds of 
milk and a quantity of curds, and let it remain 
thus for two days, after which it must be 
churned into butter. JSText, boiling the butter, 
mix it with nutmegs, mace, cloves, and the 



^16 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 

roots of several trees. After they liave been 
well boiled together, pound tlie whole very 
small, mix it with water and make it up into 
pills as small as mustard-seeds. Wlien a per- 
son is apparently in dying circumstances tMs 
medicine is administered, mixed in cocoa-nut- 
water. First, tlie patient must take a single 
pill ; and if there be no apparent relief, a se- 
cond may be given. A medicine of the same 
poison is prepared as follows : The snake is to 
be seized and a string tied round its neck till 
the mouth opens, after which some nu.tmegs, 
cloves, mace, and other spices must be thrown 
into its mouth, which is then to be closed 
again and the snake placed in an earthen pan 
and covered up closely. The pan is next to 
be placed on the fire and kept there till the 
23oison is completely absorbed in the spices, 
which are then to be taken out of the mouth 
and dried ; and after the experiment of their 
efficacy on some animal, are to be pounded 
and given to the patient as snuff or in small 
pills. 

These poisons are administered when all 
other remedies fail, and when there is but ht- 
tle hope of recovery. The most extraordi- 



LETTERS TO CHILDPvEN. 217 

nary cures, it is said, have been effected by 
them. 

But I have said enough on this subject, and 
would observe that the Hindoos do not de- 
pend altogether on their physicians or medi- 
cine for the cure of their diseases. They 
repeat the names of their gods, offer certain 
leaves to Yishnoo, repeat many charms, or 
wear them after they have been written on " 
the bark of a tree and inclosed in small cases 
of copper, silver, gold, etc. 

I have spoken above of the cobra capella. 
This is not the most poisonous snake which we 
have in India. The bite of the beaver-snake 
is much more venomous. It is said that it 
proves fatal in half a minute. 

When we look at the various evils to which 
we are- exposed in this world, how much have 
we to remind us of sin, that poison which 
has diffused itself through our whole hearts, 
and which, imless counteracted, will prove to 
be as destructive to our souls as is the virus 
of the cobra capella or beaver-snake to our 
bodies ! For the bite of these snakes there is 
often, at least, no remedy. But, blessed be 
Grod, there is a remedy for the poison of sin, 
19 



218 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

and tM§ remedy, as you have often Leard, my 
dear cMldren, is tlie blood, tlie precious blood 
of Jesus. Of tMs you must make use or you 
must perisli. And have you made use of it ? 
Perhaps some of you have done so. Many of 
you, however, I fear, have not. And is this 
the case ? Are your sins not washed away by 
the blood of the Lamb ? Then how awful is 
your situation I You are liable, every mo- 
ment, to perish. Perhaps you will perish; 
and I have no reason to think otherwise, if I 
am to judge from your present conduct. In a 
number of my past letters I have set before 
you life and death — I have told you of the 
love of a dying and risen Saviour — I have 
told you that you must come to him or perish ; 
but no impression has been made on your 
minds. And what reason have I to suppose 
that what I am now saying will do you any 
good ? Perhaps I shall be the means of your 
greater condemnation in the world to come — 
in the world of woe. Alas ! alas ! how dread- 
ful will it be if such should be the case! 
Peradventure, hewever, that you may yet ob- 
tain eternal life; let me again direct your 
attention to the Saviour. He is still knock- 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 219 

ing at the doors of your hearts, and pleading 
with yon to open them, that he may come in 
to you — that you may sup with him and he 
with you. 

Behold a stranger at the door ! 
He gently knocks, has knocked before ; 
He's waited long, is waiting still ; 
Tou treat no other friend so ill. 

lovely attitude I he stands 
"With melting heart and loaded hands. 
matchless kindness ! and he shows 
This matchless kindness to his foes. 

But will He prove a friend indeed ? 
He will, the very friend you need ; 
The Friend of sinners — yes, 'tis he 
"With garments dyed on Calvary. 

Eise, touched witli gratitude divine, 
Turn out his enemy and thine, 
That soul-destroying monster, sin, 
And let the heavenly Stranger in. 

Admit him ere his anger burn, 
His feet, departed, ne'er return ; 
Admit him, or the hour's at hand 
You'll at his door rejected stand. 

Before I conclude, will you allow me, my 
dear children, to beg one thing of you ? This 
is, that you will commit the above hymn to 
memory. 



220 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBER XLII. 

My Dear Children : Proverbial sayings 
are common in tlie Engiisli language. It is 
common to say of a person, He is as strong as 
a lion — he is as cunning as a fox. K we see 
a little cliild witli very red clieeks, we say that 
his cheeks are like roses. The Hindoos have 
many proverbial sayings. Let me mention a 
few of them. ""What beautiful hair!" they 
will say. " It hangs down like a skein of silk ; 
it is black as darkness itself, shining as oil." 
The eyes are compared to those of a deer — ^to 
a water-lily. The face is compared to the moon ; 
the teeth to the seeds of a pomegranate, to 
pepper-corns, to a row of pearls. A woman 
walks elegantly when her gait is like that of a 
goose or an elephant. When a beautiful child 
is seen sitting on the knee of its mother, they 
say: "Ah! see that water-lily bud." An infant 
of a very dark complexion is called a yomig 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 221 

crow. A woman of a wicked disposition is 
compared to tlie edge of a razor. An ugly and 
filthy woman is called a will-o'-tlie-wisp. Tlie 
liead of a woman with rough hair is compared 
to the crow's nest ; a scold to the tempest, or 
to a shower of bullets. 

When an ugly man is married to a beautiful 
female, they say: "Ah! they have given the 
moon to be devoured by the dragon — ^the ripe 
mango to the crow." A person's hair, when 
tied up like a pigtail, is compared to the tail 
of a lizard. A cruel person is compared to 
the executioner ; a hypocrite to the sly padd}^- 
bird watching its prey ; a cunning person to 
the jackal. Selfish persons are compared to 
the crows, which, though they eat every kind 
of flesh, will not permit other birds to devour 
that of the crow. A mischievous person is 
compared to the saw with which the ornament- 
makers cut their shells, and which cuts ascend- 
ing and descending. Hope in a faithless per- 
son is like a bag of sand. When a person 
possessed of many faults exposes the faults of 
another, the Hindoos say they are like the 
sieve blaming the needle for having a hole in 
19^ 



222 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

it, or like a musk-rat's ckarging a common rat 
with giving out an offensive smell. 

When a person wishes to make a strong con- 
trast between two things, he says: "These 
things are no more ahke than the lion and the 
jackal, than the sun and the fire-fly, than the 
elepliant and the fly." 

A person who can leap to a great distance 
is compared to the deer ; he who limps, to the 
frog ; a man who can run swiftly, to the wind, 
to an arrow. 

"When a handsome, wise, and well-dressed 
person is seen sitting in company, one spectator 
says to another: "He looks like one of the 
gods." A very rich and fortunate person is 
called Indree, the king of the gods ; and they 
add that his fame spreads a light like that of 
the moon, and that it is as fragrant as the sweet- 
est spice.s. He who protects orphans with a 
fatherly care is said to cover them with his 
wings. 

When two or three persons, sitting together, 
make a great noise, they say the market is 
begun. A person who troubles another by 
incessant applications is compared to a barking 
jackal following a tiger, or to a tick that lays 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 223 

liolcl of the flesh, and can not be torn away. 
A greedy person is compared to the leech. A 
person when engaged in a perplexing concern, 
says, I find no end to this unravelled thread. 
To a man surrounded with a large family, it is 
sometimes said : '' You live in a market." 
When a friend who has long been absent is 
addressed, they say : " You are lil^e the flowers 
of the young fig-tree, invisible." A person 
who secretly seeks to injure another is said to 
act like the snake which enters the hole of a 
rat. 



224 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



JSrUMBER XLIII. 

My .Dear Children : When I was in 
America, a few years ago, I preached to many 
thonsands of children and young persons. 
The following is a quotation from a sermon 
which I preached while there : " I wish to say 
one word to you, my dear little girls especially, 
to make you thankful that you were born in a 
Christian land. In some parts of India little 
girls are put to death immediately after they 
are born. There is a sect called the Jaters, 
who make it a point to murder most of their 
female infants. Among the ISTairs in Mulwa, 
in Oude, and the northern proyinces^ it is im- 
possible to calculate how many female infants 
have been put to death. A gentleman of the 
Bengal service was sent by the government 
through the northern and independent king- 
doms to find ou.t the number. In the pro- 
vinces through which he passed, the ]3rincipal 



\ LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 225 

cHefs acknowledged that they had murdered 
many of their own children, and that they 
knew their neighbors had destroyed many of 
theirs, and that this rite wa,s rooted in the 
affections of the people. In one village there 
were fifty-one boys, but only fourteen girls. 
In a second, sixty boys, and only fourteen 
girls. In a third, seventy-nine boys, and only 
twelve girls. In a fourth, ten boys, and only 
two girls. In a fifth, fifty-eight boys, and only 
four girls. In a sixth, twenty-two boys, and 
no girls. 

" I must tell you a story which will make 
you feel very sorry for the little girls of India. 
Some time ago the wife of a Eajah, or king, 
had a little daughter. The father ordered it 
to be put to death immediately after it was 
born. Had it been a son he would have taken 
gTcat care of it. A second, a third, a fourth, 
a fifth little daughter was born. All of them 
were murdered by the command of the father. 
After the sixth little daughter was born the 
mother's heart yearned over it. 'I can not 
part with it,' said she. ' I will have it taken 
away and hid, so that the King may know 
nothing about it.' He thought that it had been 



226 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

put to death, like the rest. The poor mother 
never dared to send for her little girl. She 
never saw h.er again, but died some time after. 
" Many of the little girls of India are very 
pi:etty. They have dark eyes, and sweet, ex- 
pressive countenances. This little child grew 
up a very beautiful girl ; and when she was 
eleven years old some of her relatives ventured 
to bring her to lier father. They thought that 
h.e would be struck with the sight of his sweet 
child, and that he would love her for the sake 
of the mother who h.ad died. The little gnl 
fell at his feet and clasped his knees, and 
looked up in his face and said, ' My father.' 
And what do you think the father did? Do 
you think that he took her up in his arms and 
kissed her ? l^o ; he seized lier by the hair 
of the head, and drew his sword from its belt, 
and with a single blow took ofP her head." 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 227 



JSTUMBEE XLIY. 

• 
My Dear Childeen : The Hindoos are a 
very deceitful people. Let me give you an 
instance of their deception : A late head-ca- 
techist of one of my' missionary brethren was, 
before his conversion, the priest of a temple. 
A man, from whom abont one thousand rupees' 
worth of jewels and similar things had been 
stolen, came to this priest and promised to re- 
ward him well if he would detect the thief and 
secure to him the restoration of his property. 
The priest promised to comply with his wishes, 
and in order to effect his purpose he had drums 
beaten through the village, and proclaimed 
that at a certain time he would hold a meeting 
and detect the thief. At the appointed time a 
large number of people assembled, the priest 
appearing in the midst of them with a cocoa-nut 
bound round with saffron cords. He then 
told them that if, after putting down the cocoa 



228 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

nut, it should move of its own accord towards 
him, they might know that he would be able, 
certainly, to detect the thief; and added that, 
after it had thus moved, it wonld pursue the 
offender, and follow him until it wonld break 
his head. He then performed certain ceremo- 
nies calculated to awaken superstitious feelings 
in the minds of the people, and laid down the 
cocoa-nut at a little distance from him. To the 
great amazement of all present, it began to 
move towards the priest, and continued to 
move untn it reached his feet. This being 
done, he told the people that they might con- 
clude from what they had seen that the cocoa- 
nut would follow the thief until it would break 
liis head. He consented, however, to give him 
a little grace — to spare his life until the next 
day ; adding his advice, that the thief, who- 
ever he might be, had better come to him 
privately and tell him where the property 
was. In the dead of the night a tap was 
heard at the door of the priest ; the thief pre- 
sented himself, and d.elivered up the property. 
The priest rewarded the thief for his prompt- 
ness, and received a present from the owner 
of the property. After this man was convert- 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 229 

cd, he was asked how he contrived to make 
the cocoa-nut move towards him. "Why, sir," 
said he, "if you will carefully divide a cocoa- 
nut, scoop out the kernel from one half of it, 
inclose a strong and lively rat, put the parts 
of the cocoa-nut together, and bind the whole 
with saffron cords to prevent the crack being 
seen, and then place it on a declivity previous- 
ly prepared ; it is clear, that if you place your- 
self at the foot of this declivity, the rat will 
twirl the cocoa-nut and cause it to descend un- 
til it reaches your feet." 

Let me mention another instance of the de- 
ception of the Hindoos : A man was employed 
by a king to make an image of gold for him. 
A room was set apart to which he daily resorted 
to carry on his work. Of course he was care- 
fully watched when going in and coming out, 
that he should not take in any of the inferior 
metals to mix with the gold, and that he 
should not bring out any of the gold with him. 
Every night, after going home, he would make 
just as much of an image of brass, as he made 
of the image of gold during the day. In due 
time both images were completed. His object 
in making the image of brass was, of course, 
20 



230 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

to cliange it for the image of gold, and Ids 
purposes were effected in tlie following man- 
ner : He represented to tlie king that, as lie 
had made the idol for him, he should have the 
honor of giving it its first bathing. The king 
assented to his proposal. Accordingly, the 
goldsmith went down to the river, and, carry- 
ing it out to a particular spot, where he had 
previously deposited his brass image, he pro- 
ceeded to bathe it, and while thus bathing it 
he let it sink to the bottom. He then took 
up his brass image and bore it away to the 
king. Of course, in due time he returned to 
the river and secured the gold image for him- 
self The fraud, I believe, was not not dis- 
covered until some time afterwards. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 231 



ISrUMBEK XLY. 

My Dear Childeen : I must give jou a 
few more quotations from the sermon to wMcIl 
I alluded in one of my recent letters. The 
Tliugs, or Phansiagars, are a lawless race of 
the Hindoos, who obtain their living by mur- 
der. To Karle thej ascribe their origin, their 
laws, and their observances. They say that 
the goddess plucked one of the fangs from her 
celestial jaw, and gave it to them, saying that 
they might use it as a pickaxe, which vf ould 
never wear out. She then opened her side 
and pulled out one of her ribs, which she 
• gave them for a knife, whose edge nothing 
could blunt. Having done this, she stooped 
down, tore off the hem of her garment, and 
gave it to them for a noose, which would never 
fail to strangle every person about whose throat 
it should be cast. Thus you see that their 
religion sanctions the blackest of crimes. 
These Thugs, or Phansiagars, are scattered 



232 . LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

all over India, and murder immense numbers 
of people, bj casting the noose, of wMcli I just 
told you, over tbeir beads, and strangling 
tbem. This thej do for the purpose of getting 
their money. When they rob, they always 
commit murder. Sometimes a gang consists 
of sixty or seventy persons. Those whom 
they rob are travellers, whom they fall in with 
on the road. Not unfrequently, two or three 
of a gang will take up theu- station in a choultry^ 
or rest-housC; where the traveller stops to rest 
at night; and while he sleeps they rouse him, 
and cast the noose over his head, and strangle 
him. Grenerally, they attack single travellers. 
I have read, however, of one instance, where 
forty-two persons were destroyed by them at 
one time. If a dog accompanies those whom 
they strangle, they always destroy it, lest the 
faithful creature should lead to the discovery 
of the grave of his master. They think it a 
meritorious act to give a part of the plunder 
they obtain to their goddess. If they fail in 
putting a person to death in what they think 
is the proper manner, they think that they 
have committed an ofPense against her, and 
make an offering to appease her. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



233 



These people never destroy tlie very small 
cMldreii of those whom they murder. They 
take care of them, and bring them tip to theu^ 
dreadfal profession. These children are placed 
under the care of tutors, in order that they 
may instruct them skillfully to murder their 
fellow-men. By these instructors the pupil is 
taught that it is just as proper to kill a man as 
it is to kill a snake which lies in his path, 
ready to bite him as he passes. He is not per- 
mitted at first to see the murders, but merely a 
dead body, his mind being gradually prepared 
for the sight. After Ihis, the dreadful secret 
of his trade is, by degrees, told him. When 
he expresses a wish to be engaged in this hor- 
rid business, they tell him all about it. In 
the mean time he is allowed a small part of 
the plunder, in order that his desire to commit 
these murders may be increased, as it is onlj 
by murder that this plunder is obtained. He 
is allowed, from time to time, to assist in some 
things, while the murder is taking place, or 
allowed to be present to see how the business 
is managed. It is not, however, until he be- 
comes a man that he is allowed to do the 
dreadful deed. To attain this privilege, and 
20"^ 



234 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

to prepare liimself for it, lie usually devotes 
eiglit or ten years. Before lie can commit a 
murder, his tutor must present him with a 
noose. This sets him loose upon the world as 
a licensed murderer. 

Although these plunderers are usually men, 
women occasionally strangle people. They 
sometimes select a handsome girl, whom they 
place in the way by which the traveller goes, 
where, by her beauty, or by some false story 
of distress, she betrays him to almost certain 
death. Should he be on horseback, she will 
induce him to take her up behind him ; after 
which, when an opportunity offers, she throws 
the noose over his head, leaps from the horse, 
drags him to the ground, and strangles him. 
Occasionally her purposes are defeated, as the 
following case will show : It happened that 
a horseman belonging to Coorg, in the Madras 
presidency, was passing by a spot where one 
of these interesting-looking girls was. She 
told him a piteous story of having been robbed 
and badly treated, and begged his help in her 
distress. He felt sorry for her, and. offered to 
take her behind him on his horse, and thus 
assist her a few miles on her journey. She 



LETTERS TO CIIILDREIs^. 235 

mounted, and after having engaged tlie travel- 
ler in conversation, slie suddenly passed tlie 
noose over his head, and, drawing it with all 
her might, endeavored to pull him from his 
saddle. At this moment a number of persons 
started from the thicket and surrounded hiqi. 
Being a man of great strength, he defeated the 
designs of the robbers. The murderess then 
slipped from the horse ; but the Coorg, stiak- 
ing his heels into the horse's side, caused it to 
throw out its hind legs with great violence. 
The girl was stricken to the ground ; she at 
the same time let go the cord. He then drew 
his sword, and, cutting his way through the 
robbers, effected his escape. He wounded 
two of them severely. These men were, 
shortly after, taken, and through their means 
twelve others fell into the hands of the judi- 
cial of&cers of the king of Coorg, including 
the girl who attempted the murder. They 
were all put to death. 

I am happy to tell you that the British au- 
thorities have made the most vigorous efforts 
to root out these monsters in human shape, 
and have succeeded, to a good degree, at least, 
in breaking up their gangs. 



236 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE XLYI. 

My Dear CniLDREisr : As tlie lieatlieii have 
no ^ Bible to direct tliem, tliej liave devised 
various means by whicli they expect to obtain 
the favor of their gods and get to heaven. I 
will mention some of these. 

Some burn a lamp in a temple. They think 
that this is a very meritorious act. Some roll 
on the ground after the god, as he is carried 
in a great car or chariot, around the temple. 
It is customary for the people to build these 
very high, and cover them with beautiful 
cloths. They also tie the cocoa-nut blossom 
and plaintain-tree within them, and attach 
great ropes to them. When they are ready to 
drag these cars or chariots, they bring their 
gods of gold or of brass from the temples and 
place them on them. Then one, two, three, 
six, nine hundred, and even a thousand per- 
sons, when the cars are very large, catch hold 




HOOK-SWINGING. 



Page 287. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 237 

of these ropes and drag tlieni around the tem- 
ple. While they are doing this, many of the 
heathen, to fulfill the vows which they made 
while in trouble, throw themselves on the 
ground, roll over from side to side, and fre- 
quently much inj ure themselves. Some swing 
on great hooks, which are passed through the 
tender parts of their back. Sometimes they 
swing for half an hour or an hour. It oc- 
casionally happens that the flesh in which the 
hooks are fastened gives way, in which case 
the poor creature is dashed to the ground.. 
When this occurs, the people hold him in the 
greatest abhorrence. They judge him to be a 
great criminal, and suppose that he has met 
with a violent death in consequence of the 
sins which he committed in a former birth. 

I have repeatedly been present at these 
hook-swingings. I will give you a descrip- 
tion of one which occurred while I was in 
Madura. It took place on the 8th of June, 
1848, just twenty-nine years after I first left 
America for India. It should have taken 
place on the preceding afternoon ; but one of 
the axle-trees of the car which was to support 
the machine on which the man was to be ele- 



238 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

yated in the air, was broken. Noticing of 
course could be done until it was repaired. 
The carpenters and others worked with great 
diligence until about eleven o'clock at night, 
when every thing was prepared for the swing- 
ing. I expected immediately after this to wit- 
ness the ceremony. It, however, did not take 
place until the morning. While waiting for 
the man who was to be swung to make his ap- 
pearance, I took a pencil and made a drawing 
of the machine to which he was to be fastened. 

You have, perhaps, often seen a well-sweep. 
The long beam to which he was fastened was 
swung in the same manner as is the v/ell-sweep, 
with a single exception. Ip. addition to its 
usual motion, it was made to turn horizontal^. 

Between six and seven o'clock in the morn- 
ing, the man who was to be swung made his 
appearance for a few moments, and then disap- 
peared. The hooks by which he was to be 
swung, as well as the iron rods with which a 
number of devotees were immediately to pierce 
their sides, were carried through the streets, 
and held up, that they might be seen by the 
people. Soon afterwards the man appeared 
again v,^ith the hooks in his back, and went 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 239 

up to the end of tlie beam to wHcli lie was to 
be fastened. This, of course, was lowered. 
Notwitlistanding the dense nniltitudes of peo- 
ple, I made my way to tlie same spot, deter- 
mined to be satisfied wlietlier or not there was 
any deception in the application of the books. 
There was no deception. They passed through 
the skin, on the sides of the backbone. To 
these hooks were attached yellow ropes, by 
which he was fastened to the beam. This 
being done, the men, five or six in number, 
who had hold of the ropes fastened to the end 
of the beam which rested on the ground, and 
which, of course, was then high in the air, 
drew him up until the beam lay horizontally. 
Then, after making him perform one circular 
motion around the car, they elevated him to 
the highest possible extent. "When thus ele- 
vated, it was thought that he was forty feet 
from the ground. All being ready, the peo- 
ple seized the ropes in front of the car and 
began to draw it. Mr. Chandler, who was 
with me, accompanied it with myself through 
the streets, until it came to the place jfrom which 
it set out. The distance of ground passed 
over was about half a mile, And the time in 



240 LETTERS TO CIIILDREX. 

wMch. the journey^ was accomplislied exceeded 
an hour. Of course he was swinging more 
than an hour. As the car passed through the 
streets, the people threw plaintains from the 
tops of the houses to the crowds below. 

The man who was swung was adorned with 
flowers and other ornaments. He had a tin- 
selled turban on his head. His body was 
rubbed over with a yellow paste, made most 
probably from the sandal- wood. Around his 
ancles were rings hung with little bells, which 
he made to tinkle as he was swinging, by 
striking his legs together. He held a hand- 
kerchief in one hand, and a knife somewhat 
resembling a dagger in the other. These he 
kept in constant motion by moving his arms. 

After foUomng the car for a quarter of a 
mile or more, we y^ent before it and witnessed 
another appalling sight. There were five or 
six men who had the rods of iron of which I 
just made mention, passed through the skin 
of their sides. They were dancing along, 
and as they danced, they made these rods go 
backward and forward through the skin. 

After the car had reached the place from 
which it set out, the end of the beam from 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 241 

wMcli the man was swingmg was tlien lowered 
and lie was untied. Again I looked very 
carefnllj at tlie liooks in tlie back. The peo- 
ple say that no blood is shed by their intro- 
duction, and consider this to be a miracle. 
The falsity of this assertion was shown by 
the blood which I saw on the side of one of 
the wounds. 

I have long been in this country, and con- 
sequently have become so familiarized with 
heathenism, that my feelings, though deeply 
wounded at this sight, were not so keenly 
affected as were those of my new associate, 
Mr. Chandler. He had been on heathen 
ground but a short time. When they tied 
the man to the beam, he was unnerved, and 
well-nigh overcome ; and he told me that dur- 
ing all the time he was following the car, he 
felt like shedding tears. 

While following the car, the young men of 
America came into my mind. They refuse to 
come, said I to myself, to help these miserable 
creatures. Oh ! they will not come, they will 
not come! I thought that if many of the 
dear children of that land — children to whom 
I had lately preached, as well as others, could 
21 



243 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

-witness tMs poor creature swinging from the 
end of a long beam far above tbe tops of the 
trees, and that too by hooks passing through 
the tender parts of his back, they would say, 
we -wall, by and by, become missionaries, and 
with the help of God, proclaim to the heathen 
that there is a Saviour. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 243 



NUMBEE XLYII; 

My Deae Childken : On tlie evening of 
tTie day on wMcK tlie liook-swinging, of wliicli 
I gave yon a description in my last letter, takes 
place, another act of crnelty of a very horrid 
nature is sometimes practised. Devotees throw 
themselves from a high wall, or a scaffold of 
twenty or thirty feet in height, upon a bed of 
iron spil^es, or on bags of straw with knives 
in them. Many are often mangled and torn, 
others are quickly killed. Many of the de- 
votees sit down in the open air and pierce the 
skin of their foreheads, by inserting a small 
iron rod. To this is suspended a lamp, which 
is kept burning till day-light. Sometimes 
bundles of thorns are collected before the 
temple, among which the devotees roll them- 
selves without any covering. These thorns 
are then set on fire, when they briskly dance 
over the flames. 



244 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

Otlier devotees swing before a slow fire ; 
some stand between two fires. Some have 
tlieir breast, arms, and otlier parts stuck en- 
tirely full of pins, about tb.e thickness of small 
nails, or packing-needles. Another very 
cruel torture is practised. . Some devotees 
make a vow. With one hand they cover 
their under-lip with wet earth or mud. On 
this, with the other hand, they place some 
small grains, usually of mu.stard-seed. The}' 
then stretch themselves flat on their backs, 
exposed to the dews of the night and the 
blazing and scorching sun by day. Their 
vow is, that from this position they will not 
stu", that they will not move nor turn, nor eat 
nor drink, till the seeds planted on their lips 
begin to sprout. This usually takes place on 
the third or fourth day. After this they arise, 
and of course think that they have done a 
very holy deed. 

There is a class of devotees called Yogis, 
whose object it is to root out every hu.man 
feeling. Some live in holes and caves. Some 
drag around a heavy chain attached to them. 
Some make the circuit of an empire creeping 
on their hands tUid knees. Some roll their 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 245 

bodies from tlie shores of tlie Indus to the 
Granges. The Rev. Mr. Heyer, in one of his 
letters from India, says that an Indian devotee 
has spent more than nine years on a journey 
from Benares to Cape Comorin, that is, (see 
your geography,) from the 27th to the 7th de- 
gree of north latitude. The whole journey is 
made by rolling on the bare ground from side 
to side. When he comes to a river, of course 
he can not roll over it. He therefore fords it, 
or passes over it in a boat, and then rolls on 
the banks of the river just as far as the river 
is wide. By doing this he supposes that his 
determination to roll all the way is virtually 
carried out. 

Some devotees hold up one or both arms, 
until the muscles become rigid, and their limbs 
become shrivelled into stumps. Some stretch 
themselves on beds of iron - spikes. Some 
wear great square irons on their necks. I 
have not merely seen the man, but the woman, 
with these irons around their necks, sometimes 
perhaps nearly two feet in length and two feet 
in breadth. 

Other devotees throw themselves from the 
tops of precipices, and are dashed to pieces : 
21* 



21:^) LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

some bury themselves alive in L-oles whicli 
tlieir own relatives liave dug : some bind them- 
selves witb. ropes or cbains to trees until tbey 
die : some keep gazing so long and so con- 
stantly at the beavens, tbat the muscles of 
tbeir necks become contracted, and no aliment 
but liquids can j)ass into tbe stomacb. 

But I will not continue tbis subject. You 
perceive, my dear children, wbat a wretched 
religion that must be, which encourages its fol- 
lowers to perform such acts. And how vain 
are all these acts, how utterly destitute are 
they of any merit ! Those who practise them 
are not made better by them, and they are 
just as far from the kingdom of heaven after 
having performed them as they were before. 
The Christian religion encourages no such 
things. It tells us to perform no pilgrimages 
to holy places ; to inflict no self-tortures. But 
it has its requirements, and these are very 
simple, and with Divine aid, may be easily 
performed by all who are willing to do their 
duty. These requirements are, repentance, for- 
saking sin, faith in Christ, and a supreme de- 
votedness to his service. You must have an 
experimental belief in Christ. " If thou shalt 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 247 

confess witli tliy moutli the Lord Jesus, and 
slialt believe in tliy heart that Glod hath raised 
liim from the dead, thou shalt be saved." And 
have you made such a confession, and have 
you such a behef ? If not, you are in a worse 
condition than these poor hook-swingers 
and other devotees, who have not had your 
privileges. They are not as guilty before 
Grod as you are. They know not (as you do) 
their Master's will. Still they must perish 
unless the Gospel is sent to them. But their 
punishment will not be as great as yours, if 
you shall, at last, be found among the lost. 
It would be far better for you to go down to 
hell enveloped in all the darkness of a heathen 
land, than to go down to hell from a land of 
gospel light. 



248 LETTf:ris to children. 



NUMBEE XLYIII. 

My Dear Childeen : It is related of Dr. 
Doddridge tliat on one occasion lie interested 
Mmself in belialf of a condemned criminal, 
and at length, succeeded in obtaining liis 
pardon. On entering tlie cell of the con- 
demned man and announcing to him the joy- 
ful intelligence, he prostrated himself at the 
Doctor's feet, and with streaming ejes, ex- 
claimed: "0 sir! every drop of niy blood 
thanks you ; for you have had mercy upon 
every drop of it. Wherever you go, I will 
be yours." 

And are such the feelings which were exer- 
cised by this criminal towards one of his fel- 
low-men for a temporal blessing conferred 
upon him, for obtaining a short prolongation 
of his forfeited life ? Then what should be 
your feelings, my dear children, towards the 
adorable Kedeemer, who has obtained eternal 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 249 

life for you — ^yes, for you, if you will accept 
of it? Especially should your gratitude be 
great, wlieii you remember the different cir- 
cumstances under wHcli tlie blessings were 
conferred. It cost Dr. Doddridge little or no 
suffering to obtain tlie pardon of ttie condemn- 
ed criminal for wbom lie interested Mmself ; 
but to obtain your pardon, to deliver you from 
going down to the fire which is never quench- 
ed, Christ had to come down from heaven, and 
suffer and die for you. He was crowned 
with thorns that you might be crowned kings 
in his Father's dominions. He was condemn- 
ed at the bar here, that you might not be con- 
demned at the tribunal of the last day. He 
was nailed through his hands and his feet, and 
died on the cross that you might not die for 
ever. Oh ! was there ever such love as this ? 
And if the poor criminal of whom I have 
been making mention, could say with stream- 
ing tears, "0 sir! every drop of my blood 
thanks you ; for you have had mercy upon 
every drop of it," how much more should 
5^ou, with tears of the bitterest sorrow, ex- 
claim.: "0 my Saviour! every drop of my 
blood thanks thee ; for thou hast had mercy 



250 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

on every drop of it !" Oh ! what ungratefal, 
wicked children will you continue to be, if 
you do not give up your hearts to Christ, and 
love him above every thing else in the uni- 
verse ! And how great will be your misery 
if you do not thus love him. So long as the 
criminal was unpardoned, so long was he most 
wretched ; and so long as you are unpardoned, 
so long as the Grod who made you is against 
you, so long as you are momently in danger 
of being cast into hell-fire, how can you be 
happy? I just remarked that the criminal 
who was pardoned expressed much thankful- 
ness for what Dr. Doddridge had done for 
him. But let me make a supposition. Let 
me suppose that he had expressed no thank- 
fulness at all, would you not almost involun- 
tarily have exclaimed : " What an ungrateful 
wretch !" You, my dear children, have been 
told that you are under sentence of eternal 
death, but that Christ has shed his very blood 
to procure your pardon, and save you from so 
awful a doom ; and if you will not from this 
moment begin to thank him for such kindness, 
might I not well exclaim of each of you, What 
a wretch, to treat your Saviour so ? Could I 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 251 

use any milder language to express tlie enor- 
mity of your guilt? 

Let me make another supposition. Suppose 
that wlien tlie news of pardon was brought to 
the criminal above alluded to, lie bad treated 
it witb lightness and contempt. Suppose that 
he had addressed the excellent man who 
brought it in an uncourteous manner, telling 
him that it was quite unnecessary for him to 
interfere in a business which did not concern 
him, and that he had much better have left 
him to be dealt with as the law required — 
would you not have pronounced him mad? 
And can you be absolved from the charge of 
being mad, when your conduct towards Christ 
is a thousand-fold more to be condemned than 
would have been the conduct of the criminal, 
if he had acted in the manner above describ- 
ed? 

My dear children, heaven, earth, and hell, 
all call upon you, this day, to forsake your sins 
and give your hearts to Christ. And will you 
be so mad as to turn a deaf ear to this call ? 
Will you even take another sip from the cup 
of unhallowed pleasure ? Will you ever direct 
your little feet to the ball-room, or other places 



252 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

of sinful amusement? "Will you hereafter 
prefer your worldly joys to Christ? Then 
you must be lost. You can not go to heaven 
at last, as a httle boy, who formerly belonged 
to one of my schools in Ceylon, as I hope did. 
I must tell you a little about him. After he 
had attended my preaching for some time, he 
begged me to admit him to the church. As 
he was quite young, not eleven years old, I 
was afraid to receive him. This feeling per- 
haps was wrong. He never joined the Church 
on earth. He has, however, as I hope, gone 
to join the Church in heaven. When he was 
about eleven years of age, he was attacked 
with the cholera, and died. In this country, 
when children are very ill, the father or mo- 
ther will catch up a cocoa-nut or a few plan- 
tains, and run off to the temple, and say: 
"^ow, Swammie, if you will cure my little 
boy or little girl, I will give you this cocoa-nut 
or these plantains." The mother of this little 
boy saw that he was very ill, and she told 
him that she wished to go and make offerings 
to one of her idols, in order that he might get 
well. But he requested her not to do so. "I 
do not worship idols," said he; "I worship 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 253 

Christ my Saviour. If lie is pleased to spare 
me a little longer in the world, it will be well. 
If not, I shall go to him." The last words he 
uttered were : "I am going to Christ, the 
Lord." Here was a little boy who went, as I 
liope, to heaven from a heathen land. Perhaps 
you will. go to hell from a Ghristian land. 



22 



254 LETTERS TO CHILDllEN. 



JSriTMBEE XLIX. 

My Dear Childrek : After mj return 
from America in 1837, 1 went to Madura, and 
remained there for about two years. Large 
numbers of people flocked to me to be healed 
of their temporal maladies, among whom was 
a woman with a cancer in her breast. I took 
it out for her. Before she was brought to me, 
her brother went to the temple of the goddess 
Meenaache, in Teruppoovanum, to ascertain, 
as he thought, what was her will respecting his 
bringing her to me, or taking her to a native 
doctor. In order to ascertain it, he had 
recourse to the following expedient: He 
prepared several bundles of red and white 
flowers — ^the red to represent the red or tamil 
man ; the white to represent the white man. 
These flowers were carefully inclosed in leaves, 
so as to prevent their color being seen, and 
then laid down on the ground at the entrance 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 255 

of tlie temple. After this, lie called a little 
child to him, and then proceeded to entreat 
Meenaache that if it were her will that he 
should bring the sick woman to me, she 
would direct the child to take up one of the 
parcels containing the white flowers. It so 
happened that the child took up one of these 
parcels. Of course they brought her to me. 
Had it taken up one of the parcels containing 
the red flowers, she would have been taken to 
a native doctor. 

Thus you see, my dear children, what a 
firm belief this people have in their idol-gods. 
They are taken captive by the devil at his 
wflL They grope the dark road to death with 
every light extinguished upon their paths, and 
at last perish for ever. Whether this poor 
woman of whom I have been making mention 
will perish or not, is, of course, unknown to 
me. She ]ieard of the Saviour while under 
my care, and she even went so far as to confess 
mth her mouth that Jesus Christ is the Sav- 
iour. It may be that heaven wfll be her final 
resting-place. If so, and if you should at last 
perish, she wfll rise up in judgment and con- 
demn you. 



250 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

But let me not for a moment tMnk that you 
will perish. How can you perish in sight of 
the prize which is set before you ? How can 
you perish after all that Christ has done to save 
souls ? Oh ! I entreat you, my dear children, 
that you will not perish. It will not do for 
you to perish. Father, I entreat thee, for 
Jesus' sake, that these dear children may not 
perish. I will now stop writing and go away 
alone and pray for you, that you may not 
perish. I have been away, and on my knees 
plead with God for you. Whether or not 
these prayers will also rise up in judgment 
against you, I know not. I was almost ready 
to say, that I shall weep throughout eternity 
if they do. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 257 



ISrUMBEK L. 

My Dear Childeen: I must tell you 
something about the way in which the people 
of India travel. The great mass of them 
travel on foot. Many travel in carriages of 
different kinds, and in common carts. Others 
travel in palanquins. You may have a very 
good idea of a palanquin, by supposing that 
there is a long box before you, with doors, 
instead of boards, in part for its sides — a bos 
six feet two or three inches long — ^four feet 
high and three feet wide, with a pole, about 
four feet long at each end, and with four legs. 
These palanquins are carried by four or six 
coolies. In the cities four are enough. When 
long journeys are to be performed twelve are - 
required, six of whom carry it at one time. 
They must have twelve, that six may rest, if I 
may so call it, while the others are bearing 
the heavy burden. The six who are not^ 
22* 



258 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

engaged in carrying it run along, sometimes 
in front, sometimes behind tlie palanquin. 
These coolies will, on good roads, travel at 
tlie rate of four miles an hour, and perform a 
journey of thirty miles, night after night. 
They generally travel at night, on account of 
its coolness. They can travel fifty miles at 
one time, but they could not do this in success- 
ive nights. 

When persons wish to travel quickly, they 
can always, by application to the government 
authorities, have posted bearers; that is, if 
they apply for them three or four days before 
they wish to set out on their journey. These 
are stationed, for the time being, at the dis- 
tance of about twenty miles of each other. 
"With these posted bearers, a person may 
travel nearly one hundred miles in twenty- 
four hours. 

"When travelling, the palanquin-bearers usu- 
ally cry out Ho, Ho, Who, Who. Sometimes, 
when they suppose the person whom they are 
carrying to be ignorant of their language, 
their cry has reference to his size and weight, 
as the following translation is an illustra- 
i.tion : 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 259 

Oh I what a heavy bag ! — Ho, ho 1 
Sure it is an elephant — Ho, ho I 
He is an ample weight — Ho, ho ! 
Let's let his palkee down -Ho, ho! 
Let's set him in the mud — Ho, ho ! 
Let's leave him to his fate — Ho, ho ! * 
No, but he'll be angry then— Ho, ho ! 
Ay, and he'll beat us then — Ho, ho 1 
Then let us hasten on — Ho, ho ! 
Jump along, jump along — Ho, ho ! 

K a ladj is the passenger, sucL. expressions 
as these maj be heard : 

She's not heavy — Patterum ! (Take care) 

Carry her softly — Patterum I 

Nice little lady — Patterum ! 

Here's a bridge — Patterum ! 

Carry her carefully — Patterum ! 

Carry her gently — Patterum 1 

Sing along cheerily — Patterum 1 

When passing through the streets of a town 
the J are accustomed to dignify the traveller 
with the noblest titles : 

He's a great man I — Po, po ! (Get out of the way.) 
He's a Eajah ! — Po, po 1 
She's a Ranee ! — Po, po 1 

The reason being this, that their own import- 



260 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

ance will be increased by an attendance on so 
noble a person. 

When approacbing borne tbeir tbeme is 
cbanged. The benevolence of the traveller is 
the burden of their song. They use expres- 
sions like these : 

He's a charity man — Ho, ho I 
He loves to do good — Ho, ho ! 
She^s benevolent — Ho, ho ! 
She won't forget us — Ho, ho 1 

The object of which is to remind the person 
they are carrying that after a safe arrival at 
home a little extra pay will be very welcome. 
Palanquin bearers are great cowards ; but 
they never refuse to travel to any part of the 
country, whether the road leads through 
jungles filled with tigers or elephants, or 
charged with the most fatal diseases. But 
should an elephant or tiger appear, they put 
down the palanquin and off they run, leaving 
the poor traveller to escape the best way he 
can. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 261 



KUMBEE LI. 

My Dear Childeen : If you will read 
from the tenth, to the nineteenth verse of the 
third chapter of Eomans, you will have a good 
idea of the character of Hindoo females, both 
married and unmarried. I need hardly, there- 
fore, add, that they are a most degraded as well 
as a most unhappy set of beings. 

Let me be somewhat particular in my state- 
ment of their condition. In the first place, 
their quarrelling shows that they are most 
degraded as well as unhappy. Perhaps in no 
country is the quarrelling of females carried to 
such an extent as it is in India. Being held 
in the most deplorable ignorance and slavish 
subjection, they vent their fiirious passions 
against each other, and indulge in the most 
virulent and indecent railings. 

Again: "Their throat is an open sepulchre, 
the poison of asps is under their lips." They 



262 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

swear in tlie most terrible manner, sometimes 
laying down tlieir cliildren and stepping over 
tliem, uttering at the same time the most filthy 
and blasphemous expressions. Not only do 
they curse God, but they call down his curses 
on themselves and on their children. They 
will say as follows : "Make it known, God! 
that the crime which my accusers ascribe to 
me is false ; if otherwise, let thy temple go to 
ruin; let thy bowels burst, let thyself be 
destroyed, and let thy shrine be levelled to 
the dust. If this accusation is true, let this 
my child, here on the ground, die." 

Again the Apostle says: "Their feet are 
swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery 
are in their way." In the province of Bengal 
alone, it has been supposed that one hundred 
and twenty thousand infants are yearly de- 
stroyed, before they have seen the light of 
day. While writing my letter to you on 
Infanticide, I was not aware of its prevalence 
in the Punjaub, a territory lately conquered 
by the British. By a late number of the 
Friend of India^ it appears that it is practised 
there to a most frightful extent. Late in the 
year 1851, about two years ago. Major Lake 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 263 

found tliat it prevailed among a certain class 
of people in his district. Since then, it has 
been found to prevail in Umballa, Ferozpore, 
JuUundur, Hoosheapore, Lahore, Mooltan, Jhe- 
lum, and in the Leia districts ; in fact, over a 
country as large as an European kingdom. 
It is not, however, practised by all the inhabit- 
ants, as it is said. It is confined principally 
to the Beedees and Rajpoots, among whom the 
custom is of immemorial antiquity. The Khe- 
trees, however, and some of the Brahmins, and 
even several of the Mohammedan tribes, main- 
tain the practice ; and the higher the rank the 
more certain are the female branches of destruc- 
tion. It is believed, also, by the most experi- 
enced officers, to have infected all classes in a 
greater or less degree. All over the Punjaub 
there is a disproportion in the number of female 
bu:ths not to be accounted for by ordinary 
causes, and in some districts the disproportion 
rises to a height which implies the extinction 
of the female race. This subject has within the 
past few months engaged the attention of Earl 
Dalhousie, our present Grovernor-General, and 
he will make the most strenuous exertions to 
put a stop to the dreadful evH. 



264 LETTERS TO CHILDREIT. 

Again: "The way of peace have the j not 
known." As it is a common practice for hus- 
bands to beat their wives, their wives show 
their revengeful spirit in different ways. At 
one time, they flee to the temple of the god- 
dess Karle, the goddess of vengeance, of whom 
I before told yon, and entreat her to take ven- 
geance on their hnsbands. I once witnessed 
this. When abused by their husbands, they 
sometimes wreak their vengeance upon their 
children, kicking them in a violent manner. 
Sometimes they starve themselves to death. 
Sometimes they destroy themselves, by cutting 
their throats, or by swallowing poison, or by 
throwing themselves into wells. Suicide is 
more common among women than men. A 
number of reasons have been assigned for this. 
I have already mentioned the first, namely, 
the ill-treatment which they receive from their 
husbands. Another is the belief that if they 
destroy themselves, they shall be changed into 
devils, and can take full vengeance upon those 
who have used them ill. 

The education of females is systematically 
opposed, with the exception of those woman of 
ill-fame who are the priestesses of the temples, 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 265 

and whose business it is to sing the most 
abominable and obscene songs witbin tbeir 
temples. No females are tanglit to read. The 
following are some of the alleged objections to 
their education: 

1. Females ought not to be educated; for if 
the many unlettered men were to have educat- 
ed females for wives, thej would not be sub- 
ject to them. 

2. Adultery is certainly to be expected from 
education given to females. 

3. Custom is opposed to it. 

4. Bread is not procurable by the education 
of females. 

5. Education is not required to teach a 
female how to perform her duties, as it has 
nothing to do with cookery. 

6. If a woman be educated, she will become 
a widow, or some other misfortune will fol- 
lovf. 

7. A wife is married to a Hindoo, not for 
the purpose of sitting down and conversing 
with him on any subject, but that she may be 
the confidential servant in domestic drudgery. 

Manu, the greatest of Indian philosophers 
and legislators, says: "Woman have no business 
23 



2G6 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

with, the texts of the Yeda or Sacred Books. 
Having therefore no evidence of law and no 
knowledge of expiatory texts, women must 
remain as fonl as falsehood itself" 

Again he says: "Infidelity, violence, deceit, 
envy, extreme avaricionsness, a total want of 
good qualities, with impnrity, are the innate 
fanlts of womankind." 

Again he says: "Widows can never be 
married." 

Under these circumstances, the poor unfor- 
tunate females of this heathen land groan at 
the birth of their danghiters. They mourn 
over the unhappy destiny to which, they must 
be subjected in after-life, and on tliis account 
spend many of ther leisure hours afterwards 
in melancholy meditation. They are frequent- 
ly heard to say that it would be better if their 
daughters were born mud or clay, which the 
potter shapes into cooking utensils, than to be 
destined to become the worst-treated slaves in 
the world. 

Their marriages are often marriages neither 
of choice nor affection, and consequently are 
prolific sources of misery. Before a girl has 
reached her seventh or her tenth year, the 




HINDOO KING BEHEADING HIS DAUGHTER. 



Page 26(1 



LETTERS TO CHILDllSN. 267 

parents are bound to give her in marriage. 
Both husbands and wives are often dissatisfied 
with the choice of the parents. The husband 
proves unfaithful to the wife, and she utters 
many curses against her parents, who married 
her to such a vicious and profligate husband. 

The relation of a wife to her husband is too 
often that of a slave to a tyrant. She is at the 
mercy of his will. If she has no children, 
Manu says that she may be cast off by her 
husband, and another taken, in the eighth year. 
She whose children are all dead, may be cast 
off in the tenth. She who has daughters only, 
in the eleventh ; and she who speaks unkindly 
may be cut off without delay. 

I will mention a few of the laws which are 
binding on the part of the wife. 

1. She must not sleep longer than her hus- 
band. She must be awake by the break of 
day, and be ready for his command. 

2. She must prepare her husband's food, and 
wait for his coming home, before she can put 
any thing into her mouth. Though pressed 
with hunger, she can not eat until he has taken 
his food. 

3. Though the husband cut the throat of his 



268 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

wife, it is spoken of as the truest law for a 
chaste wife to remain as silent as a dead per- 
son. 

4. At night she must not go to bed before 
her husband. 

6. She, and so it is with all women, whether 
old or young, at the sight of a man, of what- 
ever age he may be, must immediately rise, if 
she is sitting. 

In all the wretchedness I have now been 
describing, the degraded females of India live, 
and they die like the beasts of the field. Oh! 
why is it that the Grospel, the only remedy for 
their miseries, has not long since been sent to 
them ? Why is it that it is not sent to them 
now f Why is it that Christian females espe- 
cially, do not, to a greater degree, pity their sex 
in India ? Why is it that they do no more to 
send the Gospel to them ? Why is it that no 
more of them go and bear this gospel in their 
own hands to these wretched, these miserable, 
these perishing creatures ? 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 269 



NUMBEK LII. 

My Dear Childeen : As I consider Bur- 
mali to be a part of India — India beyond tbe 
Gl-9,nges — I will say a word about it. It is a 
country filled with idols. Here the " Baptist 
Greneral Convention for Foreign Missions" 
have one of the most interesting and flourish- 
ing missions in the world. The people of 
Burmah, as a general thing, are removed still 
farther from divine knowledge than the peo- 
ple of the land where I dwell. They are in 
reality atheists, or, in other words, people who 
do not believe in a Creator or Preserver of the 
world. But still they worship gods — gods 
who have become so by acts of religious merit. 
He whom they now worship is called Graudama 
or Boodh. He is reputed to be the son of the 
king of Benares ; and, if their history be cor- 
rect, was born six hundred years before Christ. 
The Boodhists have many temples erected to 
23* 



270 LETTERS TO CITTLDREN. 

the lionor of Boodh and his image. Before 
this image they present flowers, incense, rice, 
betel-nuts, etc. Like all idolatrous nations, 
the Burmese are very wicked. They do not 
respect their females as they should do. They 
treat them as an inferior order of beings. 
They often sell them. 

A singular custom prevails in that country. 
It consists in paying a certain kind of homage 
to a white elephant. This elephant is sump- 
tuously dressed and fed. It is provided with 
officers, like a second sovereign, and is made 
to receive presents from foreign ambassadors. 
It is next in rank to the king, and sujperior to 
the queen. 

Burmah is the country in which Drs. Jud- 
son and Price, and Messrs. Hough and Wade, 
suffered so much during the war which Eng- 
land had with it many years ago. Messrs. 
Hough and "Wade were the first to suffer. As 
the ships which were to make the attack upon 
Eangoon approached the city, they were seized 
and cast into prison. Their legs were bound 
together with ropes, and eight or ten Bur- 
mans, armed with spears and battle-axes, 
were placed over them as a guard. They 



« LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 271 

were afterwards put in irons. The next morn- 
ing, as the fleet approached the city nearer 
and nearer, orders were sent to the guard, 
through the grates of their prison, that the in- 
stant the shipping should fire upon the town, 
they were to kill them, together with the other 
prisoners confined with them. The guard, on 
receiving these orders, began to sharpen the 
instruments with which they intended to kill 
them, and moved them about their heads, to 
show with how much skill and pleasure they 
would attend to their orders. Upon the floor 
where they intended to butcher them, a large 
quantity of sand was spread, to receive the 
blood. The gloom and silence of death reign- 
ed among the prisoners ; the vast ocean of 
eternity seemed but a step before them. At 
length the fleet arrived, and the firing com- 
menced. The first ball that was thrown into 
the town, passed with a tremendous noise di- 
rectly over their heads. This so frightened 
the guard that they seemed unable to execute 
their murderous orders. They shrunk away 
into one corner of the prison, where they re- 
mained quiet, until a broadside from one of 
the ships made the prison shake and tremble 



273 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

to its very foundation. This so alarmed them, 
that they broke open the doors of the prison 
and fled. The missionaries, with the other 
prisoners, were then left alone. Their danger, 
however, was not at an end ; but as God had 
protected them thns far, he continued to pro- 
tect them until they were set at liberty, and 
until they were allowed again to preach the 
Gospel to those perishing heathen. Drs. Jud- 
son and Price were also imprisoned and suffer- 
ed much ; but they, too, were preserved and 
dehvered. 

After the war was over, the missionaries 
were permitted to go everywhere, to proclaim 
the name of the Saviour, and their efforts have 
been very much blessed, especially among the 
Karens. It will be impossible for me to give 
you an account of their many labors, and of 
the many tokens which they have received of 
God's favor towards them. Thousands have 
been received into their churches. I received 
a letter from the Eev. Mr. Granger, last month, 
in which he says : " We have now about one 
hundred and twenty churches, with native 
pastors, and the work is extending." 

What an encouragement does God give to his 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 273 

servants to labor among tlie heathen ! What 
multitudes of immortal souls are there now in 
Burmah, and in the part of India where I dwell, 
who are on the way to the house not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens ; but who, 
humanly speaking, must have been lost, had 
the churches in Christian lands not sent the 
Grospel to them ! Are you doing any thing 
for the salvation of the heathen of India, my 
d^r children, by your prayers and by your 
money ? If not, then you have no part nor 
lot in the great work which is going on. " In- 
asmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of 
these, ye did it not to me." 



274 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE LIII. 

My Deae Children: In my last letter, 
wlien speaking of Burmah, I mentioned tliat 
God had much, blessed the labors of his mis- 
sionary servants there. I must now tell you 
about a few bright spots in this part of India 
and of Ceylon. Through the blessing of God 
upon the prayers of his people in Christian 
lands, and upon the prayers and labors of his 
missionary servants, many of the heathen in 
these places have forsaken their idols and are 
now enlisted under the banner of Jehovah 
Jesus. In the Travancore and Tinnivelly 
districts, thou.sands, and even tens of thousands 
of the people have embraced Christianity. In 
hundreds of villages; where but a few years 
ago the name of Jesus had never been known, 
it is now known and ado^red. 

You may often have heard of Ceylon. If 
you will look at the map of Hindostan, you 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 275 

will find it close to that coiuitry. There 
Christianity has begun to take root. That 
island is more than two hundred miles long, 
and in some places quite wide. A large part 
of it is covered with jungle, (wilderness,) in 
which there are many wild beasts, such as 
elephants, bears, buffaloes, and wild hogs. In 
it alsQ are men, women, and children, running 
wild, just like the beasts. These people are 
called Yerders, or wild people. They 'wear 
scarcely any clothing. They have no houses. 
When it rains they creep into holes or go 
under overhanging rocks. Their beds consist 
of a few leaves. Sunk almost to the level of 
the brute, they live and die like their shaggy 
companions of the forest. Even upon these 
the Gospel has tried its power. More than 
fifty families have settled down, forming two 
pleasant and now Christian villages. They 
have schoolmasters and Christian teachers. 

I must give you a description of two reviv- 
als of religion which occurred while I was in 
the island of Ceylon. Before those revivals 
commenced there was no particular manifesta- 
tion of seriousness at any of our stations. It 
was in the month of October that we bega,n 



276 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

to feel tlie importance of laboring more and 
jDraying more for the conversion of perisliing 
souls. A protracted meeting was spoken of, 
and it was determined tliat one should be 
held at our seminary in Batticotta — a semi- 
nary wHcli was established for the purpose 
of raising up a native ministry. On the morn- 
ing of the day in which the meeting was^com- 
menced, Mr. Spaulding and myself went to 
the station, to assist Mr. Poor, the Principal 
of the Seminary, in laboring with the students. 
In these labors we spent five days. No sooner 
had we begun our labors than a blessing from 
on high was experienced. The windows of 
heaven were opened and the Holy Ghost de- 
scended. This was evident from the spirit of 
prayer which was poured out upon the pious 
students of the seminary. They were heard, 
" a great while before day," pleading in their 
social circles that Grod would have mercy 
upon their impenitent companions and bring 
them into the kingdom of his grace. "We 
trust, also, that a spirit of prayer was given 
to those of us who took a prominent part in 
the meeting. At the termination of our exer- 
cises, with the exception of a few lads belong- 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 277 

ing to a Tamil class, who had lately been ad- 
mitted to the seminary, there was not, so far 
as I know, an individual connected with it 
who was not hnmbled at the foot of the cross, 
either to he there until healed of his wounds, 
or to show if he perished that he must perish 
under circumstances of a very aggravated na- 
ture. 

After we had finished our meetiag at Batti- 
cotta we went to the female seminary at 
Oodooville, to hold similar meetings. Before 
we reached that station, the church-members 
there, after having heard of God's wonderful 
doings at Batticotta, became much aroused to 
pray for the influences of the Holy Spirit to 
descend upon the impenitent in their semi- 
nary also. Soon after we reached the station 
we held a meeting with the girls. Some of 
them were then deeply concerned for the sal- 
vation of their souls; but it was not until 
Wednesday afternoon that we knew how 
powerfully the Spirit of God had been at 
work. The meeting which we held with the 
seminarists at that time was one of the most 
solemn meetings which I ever attended. One 
of the girls said to her companions, in the 
24 



278 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

meeting: "Mj sisters, I liave been a proud 
one among you. I liope tliat if you ever see 
me proud again, you will tell me of it. I used 
to tell tlie missionaries tliat I liad given my- 
self to tlie Saviour ; but I bad not done it." 
Another of tbe girls burst into tears, and 
cried out aloud. As sbe could not restrain 
her feelings and did not wisb to disturb tbe 
assembly, sbe arose and left it. Sbe retired 
to one of tbe prayer-rooms adjoining tbe semi- 
nary, tbere to weep alone. Mr. Poor, one of 
my missionary associates, followed ber and 
endeavored to administer tbe consolations of 
tbe Gospel to ber ; but sbe refused to be com- 
forted. All ber distress seemed to arise from 
a single source. "I told you a falsehood," 
said sbe, " last Monday, in saying tbat I bad 
dedicated myself to tbe Saviour, wben I bad 
not." Perhaps sbe thought at tbat time that 
sbe bad thus dedicated herself to Him, but 
afterwards found that sbe bad deceived herself 
In this wretched state of mind she continued 
untd lOJ o'clock that night, when she came 
into Mr. Spaulding's house, where I then was, 
and wished to know what she must do to be 
saved. She was told, as she bad often been 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 279 

told before, that she must dedicate herself en- 
tirely to her Saviour. She went away, and 
returned the same night, about 11 J o'clock, 
saying that she had found Him. 

" Eriends, is not my case amazing ? 
What a Saviour I have found !" 

My dear young friends, are there any of 
you who have never given your hearts to 
Christ ? If so, let me entreat you to follow 
the example of that once heathen little girl of 
whom I have been speaking. She found it 
necessary to give her heart to her Saviour, 
and I trust that she did so ; and I hope that 
she is now with him ; for she is dead. Oh ! 
that you, too, would give your hearts to him, 
that it may he well with you at last. Oh ! be 
very careful, my dear children, be very, care- 
ful that the little girl of whom I have been 
speaking does not rise up in the last day and 
condemn you. She must do so, she will do 
so, if you do not, like her, choose Christ as 
your portion. But I am digressing, and must 
return to the point I left. 

The next day one of the missionary ladies 
who had lately reached Ceylon from America 



280 . LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

came to Oodooville, to witness the nature of 
tlie work wliich slie heard was in progress at 
that place, As she was entering Mr. Spanld- 
ing's house, she was met by one of the most 
consistent church-members of the seminary, 
who declared that she had lost her hope of 
being a Christian. Perhaps this church-mem- 
ber was disposed to write bitter things against 
herself because she did not feel all that warmth 
in religion which marked the conduct of those 
who, at that time, were indulging the hope 
that they had passed from death to life. After 
the lady to whom I have alluded had been in 
the house a little while, she requested Mrs. 
Spaulding to allow her to have an interview 
with such of the girls as were entertaining a 
hope of their interest in the Saviour. These 
were twenty -two in number. This interview 
was granted. As she knew nothing about the 
Tamil language, I acted as her interpreter. 
Through me, she requested the gu-ls to give a 
statement of their feelings. One of them 
arose and said : "I feel as happy as an angel. 
I feel joys that I can express to no one but 
my Saviour, and I am just as certain that my 
sins are forgiven as if I had sent a kardu- 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 281 

tTiaase [that is, a letter] to heayen, and receiv- 
ed an answer to it." Another of the girls 
said that the missionaries had often talked to 
her about her dedicating herself to the Savi- 
our, but that she did not know at that time 
what it meant. "I now know," added she, 
"what it means; for God has taught it to 
me." Another of the girls said: "Though 
they put me in the fire, I will never forsake 
the Saviour." 



24* 



282 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE Liy. 

My Dear Children : Having told jou all 
tliat I wish to say respecting the Hindoo reli- 
gion, I have one or two questions to ask you. 
And first : Do you not think that you ought 
to pray* for these poor miserable creatures ; to 
pray that God will send the Gospel to them ? 
I want to tell you about a little boy who heard 
me preach wh^ I was in America, a few years 
ago. One night he said his prayers, and went 
to bed. After he had got into bed, he said to 
the nurse : "I have forgotten to pray for the 
heathen, and I must get out of bed and pray 
for them." The nurse then told him that it 
would not be necessary for him to get up, as 
he could pray for them while in bed. " ISTo," 
said he, "I must get out of bed and pray for 
them." And the dear little boy would not 
rest until he had got out of bed and prayed for 
them. JSTow, I want all of you, my dear 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 283 

children, every morning and evening, to kneel 
down and pray for the heathen, as this little 
boy did. And I wish you to do something 
more. I want you always to be punctual in 
attending the icsual monthly concert of prayery 
provided there are no juvenile monthly con- 
certs of prayers to which you can go. I 
have long wished to see juvenile concerts of 
this kind established. They would be very 
interesting, if I am to judge from the account 
of one which I received from Mr. Vandoren, 
of Williamsburgh, when I was ia America. 
I wHl give you some extracts from his letter. 
He writes : ' ' According to promise, I send you 
an account of the first children's monthly con- 
cert of prayer, so far as I can learn, held on 
Long-Island. As notice was not given either 
in the church or Sabbath-school, the attendance 
was smaller than it otherwise would have been. 
Still, about sixty interesting children attended. 
After a few remarks concerning the object of the 
meeting, by the superintendent of the Sabbath- 
school, they sung, with melting eyes, the hymn 
which describes the wretched heathen-mother 
casting her lovely babe into the jaws of the 
nnonster of the Ganges. Prayer then was made 



284 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

of about two or three minutes in lengtli. Then 
I gave some of the most affecting accounts of 
the cruelties and ignorance of the heathen, as 
related by the devoted Wilhams, that martyr- 
missionary. Their silent attention and sub- 
dued countenances told that their hearts were 
with the wretched idolaters. After having 
thus spent about ten minutes, the children sung 
in a sweet manner a hymn — a prayer for those 
laboring amid the heathen : 

' When, -worn by toil, their spuits faU, 
Bid them the glorious future hail ; 
Bid them the crown of life survey, 
And onward urge their conquering way,' etc." 

But not only can you pray for the heathen, 
you can give something to send the Gospel to 
them. Do you say that you have no money 
to give? But can not you earn some? Many 
young persons have done so. One who wrote 
to a missionary said : "Besides supporting a 
school in Ceylon, we are going to support five 
Chinese boys. I earn six cents a week for not 
using tea, one for not using sugar, and three 
for not using coffee." 

Another says: "I, with three others, have 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 285 

been making matclies to tlie amount of ten 
dollars, and should have made more, but 
the people are pretty well supplied. I am 
going to dig mj father's garden, and my mo- 
ther is going to give me a quarter of a dollar 
for digging it, which I shall give to the mis- 
sionaries. I am going to do all I can, and 
earn all I can, and save all that I have, to sup- 
port the missionaries." 

Another says : "I am going to leave off 
buying candy, and such little notions, unless 
it is necessary, and save every cent that I can 
get, and give it to the missionaries." 

Now, my dear children, I do think that if 
you would save some of those cents which 
you spend in buying candy, fire-crackers, and 
similar things, and buy Bibles and tracts for 
the poor heathen, you would do much more 
good with them. 

I told you in one of my letters, of a little 
boy who died just after uttering : "I am going 
to Christ the Lord." That dear child went 
to heaven, as I hope, through the means 
of a tract which cost only two or three cents, 
and which was the cause of his coming under 
my care. Now when you think about this 



286 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

little boy, I want you to ask yourselves whe- 
tlier it is not better to give two or three cents 
to try and save tlie soul of some poor little 
heathen boy or girl, than spend them ia buying 
candy and other useless things. 

But I must tell you about a little girl whom 
I saw some time ago, who refused to buy candy 
while there are so many heathen without the 
Bible. Her father is a sea-captain. Beuig ab- 
sent from home, he sent her five dollars to buy 
candy or any thing else which she might wish. 
As this little girl had heard about the heathen, 
she determined to throw all her money into 
the missionary-box, instead of spending it for 
her own pleasure. The mother, on learning 
her intentions, asked her if she would not like 
to spend a part of it for candy and similar 
things. She replied, that she would not, and 
in due time she put her five dollars into the 
missionary-box. Kot long after this she was 
attacked with a severe tooth-ache. The mother 
proposed that the defective tooth should be 
extracted. The little creature (for she was only 
about eight years old) dreaded the operation, 
and seemed at first to be backward about 
having it performed. To encourage her to 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 287 

submit to it, lier motlier offered Iter twenty- 
five cents. This little girl did not then begin 
to reason : ISTow if I can only get those twenty- 
five cents I can buy some sngar-candy, or I 
can buy a doll ; but she reasoned thus : ISTow 
if I can get those twenty-five cents, I can go 
and put them in the missionary-box. So she 
said to her mother, I will go and have the 
tooth taken out. The tooth, however, ceased 
to ache ; but still she wished to have it ex- 
tracted. Her mother then interfered and told 
her that as it had ceased to ache, it might be 
well for her not to have it drawn until it ached 
again. The Httle girl, however, persisted, say- 
ing that if it was not taken out, she could not 
get the twenty-five cents to give to the mis- 
sionary cause. She, therefore, went to the 
dentist's, submitted to the operation, received 
her twenty-five cents, and went and threw 
them into the Lord's treasury. Was that not 
a noble little girl ? Doubtless you all will say 
that she was. 



288 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE LY. 

My Deae Childeen : I concluded my last 
letter by telling you of a little girl wlio re- 
ceived twenty-five cents for having her tooth 
pulled, and who threw them into the mission- 
ary-box. I must tell you about a noble httle 
boy also. While I was in America, a few 
years ago, I preached in Canandaigua, in the 
western part of New- York. After I had 
preached there, I went on to Kochester. Ee- 
tuming from that place, I met with a lady in 
the cars, who told me as follows : " After you 
had preached in Canandaigua," said she, " a 
young lady there, who had lost her mother, 
and who had six, or seven, or eight, of her 
brothers and sisters u.nder her care, formed 
them into a missionary society " — (Oh ! I wish 
that all the dear children in America were form- 
ed into missionary societies.) " After she had 
done this she asked her little brother how he 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 289 

was going to get money to put into the mission- 
ary-box. ' By catcMng mice,' said lie. His sif- 
ter gave him two or three cents for every mouse 
he caught." Thus it appears that this dear 
httle boy was going to throw all his earnings 
into the Lord's treasury. 

But let me tell you a little more about the 
chndren to whom I before alluded. Another 
says : " In some of the day-schools of the city, 
the girls have formed sewing-societies and 
make pia-cushions, needle-books, emery-bags, 
and the like, and send the money that is 
raised by the sale of them to the missionaries 
to be used for the heathen. There are seven 
Sabbath-schools in this town, and in each of 
them there is a missionary association ; so that 
in all, about five hundred dollars are sent from 
the Sabbath-schools every year." 

ISTow, my dear girls, I want you to think of 
^vhat has now been said about the formation 
of sewing-societies, and I want you to ask 
your mothers whether they will not allow you 
to form such societies, to meet once a week, or 
once in two weeks, or once a month, to sew, 
to get money to send the Gospel to the heathen. 
Many societies of this kind have been formed. 
25 



290 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

After I liad preached to the children in one 
of the chnrches in Third street, New- York, the 
little girls who attend that church formed a 
society. The account which I received of it 
is as follows: "You may remember that in 
your address to our Sabbath-school, you re- 
lated instances of little girls knitting, sewing, 
etc., to earn' something for the missionary-box. 
The examples which you related were not lost 
to the girls of the Sabbath-school. Immedi- 
ately they began to talk about forming them- 
selves into a sewing-society, and making small 
articles and giving the proceeds to the mission- 
ary society. They did not stop here, but 
went right to work and soon formed their so- 
ciety, which they styled the Juvenile Sewing 
Society. They are in a very prosperous and 
flourishing condition at present. I know not 
the amount of funds they possess ; they pay a 
cent a week into their treasury, but they have 
a large assortment of articles already made, 
I understand also, they meet once a week to 
sew." 

After I had preached at a place called Little 
Falls, New- York, the girls formed a sewing- 
society there. The followiag account of this 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 291 

society I received from one of its little mem- 
bers : "When you were here last fall, and told 
us liow much good little girls had done in 
having sewing-societies, we thought we would 
see if we could not do some good in the world 
as well as they ; and since October we have 
met weekly, and by holding a fair, we have 
succeeded in raising sixty-two dollars. We 
hope it will be the means of saving some poor 
heathen children." 

Now as I said before, I want you, my dear 
girls, to ask your mothers if you may not 
form such societies also. Will you think of 
it ? I hope you will. 

Another of the children before referred to, 
says : "I can try and save their souls, if I am 
not there. I can work for them, and send 
some money to you to buy them Bibles, and 
I can pray for them; and if I should save 
some souls, oh! how would they thank me. 
But if I did not send my money, nor care 
any thing about them, and I should not go to 
heaven, and they should not, how would they 
rise up in judgment against me, and say, ' K 
we had had the privileges that you had, we 
should not be here!' Oh! how thankful we 



292 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

•ouglit to be that we were not born in beatben 
lands. Ob! if tbe poor beatben conld only 
bave sucb privileges as we bave, bow tbank- 
fal would tbey be. And if we were born 
in beatben lands, I bave no doubt tbat tbey 
wonld come and tell ns about a Saviour." 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 293 



NUMBEE LYI. 

My Dear Childeen: I received many 
letters wMle in America, breathing the same 
spirit wHcli is manifested in my last letter. 

One writes : " Last winter I brought in the 
wood for mother, and she gave me fifty cents. 
I now am very glad that I have not spent it, 
as I can give it to you to buy tracts for the 
little heathen children of India." 

A second writes : " The inclosed fifty cents 
my grandmother gave me, when I was a very 
little boy, for sitting still one hour. Will you 
please to use it to furnish the Bible and mis- 
sionary to the heathen ?" 

A third writes : "I have always spent my 
money for candy, and other trifles ; but since 
I have heard about the darkness and misery 
of the heathen, I intend to save it all, and put 
it into the missionary -box." 

A fourth writes : " The inclosed I earned 
25^ 



294 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

by knitting. I intended to save it till I had 
sufficient to carry me a sliort journey, to see 
some of my friends ; but wlien I beard you 
tell about the Httle beatben girls, I tbougbt I 
would give it to you, for tbe poor beatben 
cbUdren." 

. A fiffcb writes : "I nave inclosed twelve 
and a balf cents, wbicb my fatber gave me to 
go and see Greneral Tom Tbumb. Wben I 
beard you lecture last evening, I came borne 
and concluded to give it to you, and let you 
buy Bibles for tbe poor beatben." . 

A sixtb writes: •'! remember before my 
motber died, sbe used to tell me a great deal 
about tbe cbildren of India. And now sbe 
is in beaven, I tbink sbe would like to bave 
me give my beart to tbe Saviour, and go and 
teacb tbese poor cbildren. I give you some 
money wbicb was given to me to see an exbi- 
bition, wbicb I saved to give for sucb tbings, 
ratber tban go." 

A seventb writes : " You told us tbat two 
cents were tbe means of converting a young 
man ; I would give two cents every week, if 
it would convert souls to Obrist." 

An eigbtb writes : ' ' My motber told me some 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 295 

time ago, that every day I recited my lessons 
without missing a word, she would give me a 
penny ; and not being desirous to spend it, I 
do wish you would take it — ^fifty cents — ^to 
the heathen. It may buy some tracts at the 
bazar or market." 

A ninth writes : "I feel sorry for the poor 
heathen children. "We will try to earn some 
money to buy Bibles for the heathen. Father 
has promised us some land to work, next sum- 
mer, aiid we think we can raise something and 
sell it to get the money." 

A tenth writes : " Since you were here last 
spring, I have saved what I could — one dol- 
lar — for the heathen children, and should be 
glad if I could do more." 

An eleventh writes : " The money which 
you will find inclosed, I earned by working for 
my mother on Saturday, which I intended to 
keep to buy a microscope ; but when I heard 
you preach on Sabbath, I concluded to give it 
to buy Bibles for the poor heathen children." 

A twelfth writes : " The inclosed five dol- 
lars was a birthday present from my father ; 
but I want to give it to Dr. Scudder for *the 
poor little boys in Ceylon." 



296 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

A tliirteentli writes : " Please accept my 
mite by the hand, of my brother. I have been 
keeping it for the purpose of buying a geogra- 
phy ; but when I heard you preach yesterday, 
I thought I had better send it to you for the 
poor heathen." 

A fourteenth writes : "I would like much 
to become a missionary, as I am named after 
one. I hope I shall be one. I have been 
saving a dollar to bu}^ myself some books, 
but concluded to give it to buy some books 
for the heathen." 

The last two children whose letters you 
have been reading, gave to the missionary 
cause the money which they had been earning 
to buy some books. When you have been 
earning money for the express purpose of giv- 
ing it to the missionary cause, you should de- 
vote it all to that cause ; but I would advise 
you not to do as did the two children last 
mentioned. Had my opinion been asked re- 
lative to the disposal of their money, I would 
have recommended them to give one tenth of 
the sums they had been earning to the. Sav- 
iour, and to keep the rest to buy those books 
which they absolutely needed. The giving 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 297 

of not less tlian one tenth of all you earn for 
charitable purposes is tlie principle wliicli I 
wish to have full j impressed on your minds, 
and I hope you will grow up under the in- 
fluence of this principle, and never^ never de- 
part from it. But while I thus speak, you 
must not suppose that I wish you to confine 
yourselves to the giving of one tenth, if you 
can give more. I hope you will give not merely 
this, but one half, or more, if you can afford 
it. Indeed, if you do not go as missionaries 
to the heathen, I want you to make it your 
great object to mahe money for Christ, and to 
spend it for Christ. Oh! if the generation 
which is grown were as anxious to make 
money for Christ and to spend it for Christ, 
as they are to make it for themselves and to 
spend it for themselves, or to hoard it up — ^it 
may be for the everlasting destruction of the 
souls of theK heirs — ^there would be no com- 
plaints that money could not be had to send 
the Grospel to the destitute both at home and 
abroad. 

In one of my former letters I spoke of the 
liberal donations which the heathen of India 
make for the support of their religion. In the 



298 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

city of Calcutta alone, it is supposed tliat two 
millions of dollars are spent- every year on the 
festival of a single goddess — a festival which 
lasts only a few days. A single native has 
been known to give, as I before said, more 
than one hundred thousand dollars at one 
time to this festival, and afterwards thirty 
thousand dollars yearly. How vast, then, 
must be the sums which are spent upon all 
the different festivals of their gods, through- 
out the length and breadth of their land I 
Would that we could see such liberahty 
among Christians ! Would that we could see 
the generality of them willing to give even 
one tenth of their annual income ! Alas ! what 
would the heathen say, were they to learn 
how much greater are the smus of money 
which they give to their idols, than Christians 
give to honor their Saviour? Would they 
not exclaim: It is because Christianity is 
false, and heathenism is true, that Christians 
give so little for Christ, while we give so much 
for our gods ? My dear children, I hope that 
you will never allow the heathen to say that 
the Christian religion is false, because you do 
not give money for the spread of the Gospel. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 299 

Will you not resolve now, that yon will, so 
long as God prospers yon in worldly goods, 
give at least one tenth of all you earn to tlie 
Lord ? Do, my dear cMldren, do make this 
resolution now. 



300 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



NUMBEE LYII. 

My Deae Childeen : You perhaps liave 
seen Campbell's Missionary Map of the world. 
If not, I want you carefully to look at it. I 
want you to look at the red spots on it, and 
think how many millions of people embrace 
the religion both of the Greek and Eoman 
Catholic Churches — a religion that is nothing 
more or less than Paganism, with a few Christ- 
ian doctrines added to it. Affcer this, I want 
you to look at the green spots, and think of 
the hundred and twenty millions of Moham- 
medans, who spurn the name of Jesus as a 
Saviour, and who have set up Mohammed as 
their prophet. I want you also to look at the 
dark spots, where, with comparatively few 
exceptions, the people are in pagan darkness, 
without any knowledge of God and the only 
Saviour of sinners, Jesus Christ. And in Adew 
of all this darkness ; in view of the need of 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 301 

more than half a million of ministers of the 
Grospel to preach the news of salvation to them, 
I want you, my dear boys, to ask yourselves 
whether it may not be your duty, after you are 
grown up, to become ministers, and go and 
preach the Grospel to them? I'or you know 
that you are bound to do all the good to others 
which you can ; and even if you do not love 
the Saviour, you are not released from your 
obligations to do good. I would by no means 
have you become ministers without giving 
your hearts to Christ ; but this you are as much 
bound to do as*you are bound to do all the 
good you can to others. If you are not Christ- 
ians, I want you, through the aid of the Holy 
Spirit, to become such, and I want many of 
you to become ministers and missionaries. 
Three of my sons are now missionaries in In- 
dia, and three of the four others I hope will, in 
due time, follow their example. And why 
should not you also come here, or go to other 
heathen lands ? If you can be excused from 
coming or going, why may not all who are 
now httle boys also be excused ? In such a 
case there will be no missionaries at all. And 
you know that this would be very wrong. 
26 



302 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. ^ 

But I do not merely want many of you, my 
dear boys, to become missionaries, I want many 
of you, my dear girls, to become missionaries 
also. Many little girls and boys have express- 
ed a desire to become missionaries. Several 
boys, wlio wrote to one of my former mission- 
ary friends, and several little boys and girls 
who have written to me, have said that they 
would like to become missionaries. 

One writes: "I should like to go and be a 
missionary, and instruct the poor heathen child- 
ren to love God." 

A second says : " I have beerf selling matches 
that I made. I got five dollars — -just as many 
dollars as I am years old. I think I shall 
become a missionary and come and help you. 
I hope I shall see you again when I come to 
Ceylon. Tell the heathen children they must 
love G-od and be good children. They must 
not give the children to the crocodiles, nor 
throw them into the water, and they must not 
worship wooden and brass gods. They must 
worship the true God and keep his command- 
ments." 

A third says : "I like to send money to help 
the poor heathen to learn to read the Bible 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 303 

» 

and other good books. I think it will be 
pleasant to sail across tlie ocean, and teach 
them to turn from their idols. I wonld teach 
them not to lay themselves down before the 
car of Juggernant, and be crushed to death ; 
and I would teach them not to burn themselves 
to death on the funeral pile." 

A fourth says: "I mean to save something 
to send to you to help support one school. 
Should my life be spared, and the way be 
opened at some future day, I think I should 
be willing to leave my native home to go to 
some distant land, to tell the heathen of a 
Saviour, whom I hope I have found." 

A fifth says: "If you are ever in want of 
money, just please to send on to me, and I 
will endeavor to raise all that you want. If I 
live to be a man, I hope to be a missionary to 
Ceylon or China." 

One little boy wrote to me as follows : "I 
have for a long time been saving three shillings 
for the purpose of buying a little raccoon, 
which I intended to do on Monday. On Sun- 
day I heard you preach, and thought I would 
give it to you to save some poor heathen soul ; 
and I hope you will pray for me, that I may 



304 LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 

» ; 

become a minister, and go to India, and preach 
to the heathen." 

Another writes : " This is to certify that I, 
Charles D. H. Frederick, pledge myself, if God 
spares my life, when I get to be a man, and he 
pardons me through Christ Jesus, I will go 
and preach to the heathen." 

A little girl wrote me as follows: "Ac- 
cording to my present feelings, I should Hke 
to engage in so glorious a cause" as the mis- 
sionary cause, "and I hope when I arrive at 
an age to be of use to Grod and the poor heath- 
en, to embrace so glorious a cause." 

Another little girl writes: "I felt very bad 
when I heard you tell about the poor heathen 
who worship the idols. I could not keep 
from weeping, when you told us about the 
man who came so far to get a teacher to come 
and tell the Grospel to his friends, and was dis- 
appointed. I felt very bad Sunday evening ; 
and on Monday evening I felt that the Lord 
had given me a new heart. I felt happy, and 
sang some beautiful verses that I learned in 
one of mother's httle books. I have read the 
Day-Springs^ and thought a grea,t deal about 
the heathen for two years. I used to think a 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 305 

great deal about having nice clotlies before I 
thought so much about the heathen. My 
mother told me, some time ago, that she 
thought she would get me a white dress when 
I was ten years old. I am now ten years old, 
and this evening mother gave me two dollars 
to get the dress, or dispose of it in any way I 
thought best ; and I wish you would take it, 
to have the poor heathen taught about the 
Saviour. If I live, and it is the Lord's wil], I 
hope I shall come and help you teach the 
poor heathen about the Saviour." 

There is, or rather was a little boy in the 
city of ISTew-York, who formerly told his 
mother that he meant to be a cab-driver, and 
all she could say to him was of no avail in 
making him think differently. This little 
boy came with his mother to hear me preach 
about the heathen. After we had left the 
church, as he was going home, he burst into 
tears and exclaimed : "Mother, I mean to be a 
missionary to the heathen." "Who among you, 
my dear children, are ready to exclaim, with 
this little boy. We mean to be missionaries to 
the heathen ? 

26^ 



306 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 



ISrUMBEE LYIII. 

My Deae Childeek: When I was in 
America a few years ago, I used continually, 
wlien preacMng, to ask tlie dear children 
whether they wonld not become missionaries. 
I nsed also to beg them to write down what I 
had asked them. Many complied mth my 
request. While I was at the Avon Springs, one 
of the daughters of a physician there liot only 
wrote it down, but gave me what she had 
written. The following is a copy of what she 
wrote: 

"August 18, 1844. 
"Dv. ScuXrturr 

Requested me to come to India when I am grown. 
"J.WW Springs. S. P. Southworth," 



Could I raise my voice loud enough to 
reach America, I would beg of you to ymte 
down the foUowino^ sentence : De. Scuddee 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 307 

asks me, to-day, wlietlier I will not hereafter 
become a missionary to the heattien. Perhaps 
you will write it down immediately — will you 
not? 

Now, my dear boys, if you will come out to 
India, or go to Burmah, or China, to tell the 
heathen of a Saviour, you may, with the bless- 
ing of God, do as much good as Swartz, and 
Carey, and others have done. And if you, 
my dear girls, will do the same, you also may 
do much good. This will appear fi:om what 
I told you in my twenty-sixth letter. It will 
also appear from what I will tell you about a 
little girl of Ceylon. This little girl belonged 
to the boarding-school at Oodooville. She 
early gave her heart to the Saviour, and join- 
ed the church when she was thirteen years old. 
I should like to know if there are any of you 
who have not followed her example. If so, 
you well know, my dear children, that this is 
not right. It is not right. Shall this httle 
girl, in a heathen land — a land filled with 
idols- — give her heart to Christ, and you, in 
a Christian land — a land of Sabbaths, and 
Sabbath-schools, and Bibles — not give your 
hearts to him ? Oh ! how wicked ! 



808 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

But let me go on with my account of tlie 
little girl. After slie liad joined tlie clni:pcli, 
slie wanted to go and see lier mother, who 
was a heathen, for the purpose of conversing 
with her about her soul's concerns. Now in 
this country when children who have been 
absent from their parents for any length of 
time go home, the mother spreads a mat down 
on the floor and tells them to sit down upon 
it, adding that she will go and cook rice for 
them. They, in general, have no seats to sit 
on, as you have in America. "Well, this little 
girl went home. When her mother saw her 
she was very glad, and after she had spread a 
mat for her and told her to sit down, she said 
that she would go and cook rice for her. The 
little girl told her that she was not hungry and 
did not wish to eat, but wanted to talk with 
her. "You can not talk with me," said her 
mother, "until I have cooked rice for you." 
"Mother," said the little girl, "you worship 
idols, and I am afraid that you will lose your 
soul, and I want to talk with you about Jesus 
Christ." The mother became quite angry with 
her, and rebuked her. But still the little girl 
continued to talk with her about her soul. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 309 

The motlier then became so angry that she 
told her to be silent or she wonld punish her. 
The little girl replied, "Mother though you 
do whip me, I must talk to you about Jesus 
Christ;" and she burst into tears. The mo- 
ther's heart was broken. She sat down on 
the mat, and her little daughter talked and 
prayed with her. After this, the little gu-l 
was so troubled, fearing that her mother's soul 
might be lost, that she was heard praying for 
her during all parts of the night. And God 
heard her prayers. Her mother forsook her 
idols and became a Christian, and her conver- 
sion was followed by the conversion of one or 
two others. Now, my dear girls, if you will 
give your hearts to the Saviour, and in due 
time come here or go to other heathen lands, 
and tell the people of a Saviour, you may, 
with the help of the Holy Spirit, be as useful 
as this little girl was. 

And now, my dear children, I must bring 
my letters to a. close, and bid you farewell. In 
connection with my remarks about the misery 
and wretchedness of the heathen, I have said 
much to you about the salvation of your own 
souls ; and I, perhaps, have said my last words. 



310 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

I am not aware tliat I sMl ever do any thing 
more for you in tliis respect than to pray for 
you. I therefore say, Farewell. It will be but 
a short time before we shall be called to stand 
before the tribunal of the last day; to stand 
before our final Judge. And where shall I 
then see you ? Shall I see any of you on the 
left hand of Christ, and hear Him say : " De- 
part from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, 
prepared for the devil and his angels." Oh ! 
if I should hear that dreadful sentence pro- 
nounced against you, how would my heart die 
within me! How could I bear to hear it? 
Oh ! I could not. I could not bear to hear it. 
My dear children, if you are yet out of Christ, 
I entreat you at this very moment to lay down 
this paper and throw yourselves at the feet of 
your Saviour. Tell him that you are lost 
sinners, deserving to be cast into everlasting 
burnings. Tell him that though you have 
been wicked children, you will leave off your 
wickedness and be his for ever. Plead with 
him with as much earnestness as a drowning 
man would plead with you to save him, to 
give you his Holy Spirit, to renew within 
you a right spirit, without which you are 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 311 

eternally undone ; and continue to plead until 
lie pardons you and receives you as Ms cHld- 
ren. By all the sufferings of tlie Son of Grod, 
by all tlie joys of heaven and by all the tor- 
ments of hell, by the solemnities of your dying 
bed, by the value of your immortal souls, 
{which^ if once losf, must he lost for ever^) I be- 
seech you thus, immediately/, to throw your- 
selves at his feet, and plead with him to 
make you his. Neglect this duty, neglect it 
even for one minute, and it may be that you 
will be LOST, LOST FOR EVER ! And will you 
neglect this duty? Perhaps you will. Per- 
haps all the warnings I have given you have 
been hastily read by you, and will hereafter 
be unheeded, uncared for, and but little 
thought of. This indifference, however, can 
not always last. Your seasons of reflection 
will certainly come. K not in a dying hour, 
they will in the judgment-day, and they will 
make your hearts sink and die within you 
when, in common with all those whose sins 
are not washed away in the blood of the 
Lamb, you shall be cast away into the lake of 
burning brimstone. And when millions and 
millions of years shall have rolled away, and 



312 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

jovl are forced, by tlie gnawings of tlae worm 
wMcli never dies, and by the torments of tlie 
fire wMcli is never qnenched, to lift up your 
voice, and say, "How long, Lord! yet how 
long?" and when the voice of infinite Justice 
proclaims, For ever! with what waiUings 
and bitter lamentations will you look back 
and remember the transactions of this day, 
when you deliberately and wiRmglj chose the 
warld^ instead of the Saviour ^ as your portion! 
Yery affectionately, 

J. SCUDDER. 

Madras, Oct. 15, 1853. 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN". 313 



ISrUMBER LIX, 

Mr. Editor: The accompanying papers 
contain an extract from a private letter written 
by my sister Harriet to my brother and my- 
self. Thinking that it might be read with in- 
terest by the friends of the missionary en- 
terprise, and especially by those connected 
with our own denomination, I send it to yon 
for publication, if you see it fit to give it a 
place in the columns of the Intelligencer. The 
letter was written in February of the present 
year. Our friends in India had not then 
heard the intelligence that has saddened our 
hearts. Ezekiel C. Scudder. 

LETTER FROM INDIA. 

" I MUST ten you of a very interesting case 

we have had lately of a little heathen boy. 

He is the only son of a high-caste, proud, and 

respectable family in the large town of "Walla- 

27 



314 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

janugger. He came a long time ago to Henry 
for medical treatment, and heard the Gospel. 
■ He did not forget it, but a few weeks since ap- 
peared on Henry's verandah, and begged him 
to take him and protect him, as he was deter- 
mined to be a Christian. He came to Yellore 
all the way from his town alone. Henry, of 
course, received him. Three or four days 
after, his parents appeared and claimed their 
child. Henry brought them out, and told them 
if he would go they might take him. The 
little fellow told them nothing could induce 
him to return to heathenism, and that he 
should .stay with Henry, who could teach him 
the way to heaven. A heart-rending scene 
followed, enough to make any one weep. His 
poor heart-broken parents and friends wept 
and used every inducement to make him go 
with them ; but though the dear boy suffered, 
he remained steadfast. By and by he pa,rtook 
of some food on Henry's table, before his father. 
The poor man arose at once, and, without a 
word, left the house, overwhelmed with shame 
and sorrow that his only child had lost his 
high caste, etc. All remained quiet until 
about a week after, when Henry received a 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 315 

summons to appear before the court at Yellore, 
with the boy, whom his father declared was 
detained by Henry, without his (the father's) 
consent. Henry sent over here for William 
to accompany him to court, which was to be 
held two days after. Oh! what a sad two 
days it was to us. Incessantly our prayers 
arose on behalf of the dear boy. Hon. Judge 
Sullivan, the judge, is a very worldly man, 
and from the tone of his remarks, it seemed 
very evident that his mind was made up in 
favor of the father, and that the boy would be 
taken from us and given to him, and returned 
to heathenism. Our souls were in great sor- 
row, and with tears we plead that our Father 
would appear for us, and incline the heart of 
the judge to allow the boy to choose for him- 
self Poor Henry was worn out with anxiety 
and sorrow. He has since remarked that ' he 
never had prayed so earnestly for his own sal- 
vation as he had for the boy.' He and Wil- 
liam spent hours talking and praying with the 
boy. They told him they feared he would 
be given up to his father, but that he must 
cling to Jesus, and he could be saved. The 
little fellow trembled much, but declared that 



316 "^ LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

notliing could make Mm leave Christ. On 
Timrsday, tlie 2otli of last month, (Jamiary,) 
at 11 o'clock, they went to court, and we three 
sisters tried to spend an honr at the mercy- 
seat, pleading for Jesus' sake, that the decision 
of the judge might be in our favor, and the 
boy returned to us. The whole day was spent 
in hearing and examining the case, but no de- 
cision was given, and it was laid over until 
Saturday, when Henry was commanded to ap- 
pear with the boy again at 12 o'clock. Wil- 
liam was obliged to return home on Friday, 
as it had been decided at the annual meeting 
of the mission that all our native Christians 
should meet (from the four stations) here at 
this station, that we might see them all 
together, and have a love-feast and com- 
munion season. On Friday evening they came 
in, one party after another, from Arnee, Arcot, 
and Yellore. It was quite a business to see 
and speak to them all, and arrange places for 
their accommodation. They seemed very 
happy to see each other. Some of them had 
never met before, and we decided that they 
should all get acquainted. Fanny and the 
four darliags, and Anna also, arrived the same 
• 



LETTERS TO CHILDREJT, 317 

evening from Yellore — Henry could not come 
until after attending court witli tlie boy, as ap- 
pointed the next day, (Saturday,) and he sent 
^A^ord that, as soon as the decision was given, 
he would ju.mp on his horse and try to reach 
us in time for the love-feast in the evening. 

"On Saturday morning, the Christians and 
all their children assembled to attend prayers. 
After prayers, William told them that, at 12 
o'clock, Henry was to appear in court with 
Shengieryan, the boy, and that if they liked 
he would meet them all at that hour and pray 
that the boy (who was to be examined particu- 
larly) might have grace given him to stand 
firm, and that Mr. Sullivan might be inclined 
to give him back to u.s. He added, that we 
had the promise that if we prayed in faith, God 
would answer us. At 12 o'clock they all 
came in, and we spent an hour together. As 
William was anxious that they should feel 
that they ought to pray earnestly for the child, 
he let all who wished speak and take part in 
the meeting. It was a sweet season. I wish 
you could have heard some of the prayers, 
especially those by our two old and dear cate- 
chists, Andrew and Daniel. They plead so 
27^ 



318 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

earnestly and eloquently, so tenderly and 
sweetly for their young brother in Christ, that 
it melted us to tears, and when the meeting 
closed, my anxiety seeilied to leave me, and we 
all felt as if our prayers would certainly be 
answered. Saturday was a very busy day 
with me, as I had to provide for the love-feast 
in the evening. There were more than eighty 
persons to eat, so you may fancy it was no 
small work to think and plan so as to be sure 
there would be enough of every thing. You 
would have laughed to see the immense quan- 
tities of rice, vegetables, meat, etc., which I 
purchased, and the directions I gave to the 
servants to cook all my own way. I was on 
my feet all day, hither and thither, superin- 
tending matters, and occasionally scolding a 
little when I could not make them obey me. 
At 5 o'clock, just as the bell was about being 
rung for our preparatory service, (the next day, 
Sabbath, we were to have communion,) Henry 
rode in, and we all rushed out to meet him. 
The first words he exclaimed were, ' The dear 
boy is ours ; Mr. Sullivan let him choose for 
himself, and of course he chose to remain with 
me.' We could have wept we were so happy, 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 319 

and as we met at service we tried to praise tlie 
Lord for so remarkably answering our prayers. 
W"e waited until 8 o'clock in tke evening be- 
fore we had our love-feast, in kope that the 
dear boy, wkom Henry bad put in a bandy 
after court was over and started kim for tkis 
place, migkt reack us to join witk us in eat- 
ing. However, ke did not get in until after 
we kad commenced, and wken it was an- 
nounced tkat ke kad arrived, every one was 
anxious to meet and speak to kim. We sur- 
rounded kim, and rejoiced over kim as a 
' brand plucked from tke burning.' His sckool- 
fellows embraced kim in tkeir arms, tkey were 
so kappy to kave kim back among tkem. We 
kad a very nice love-feast. Our ckurck-mem- 
bers we seated at . a table, wkile tke nominal 
Christians and ckildren seated tkemselves in 
rows on tke floor. Fanny and Anna sat among 
tke women, wkile I kelped Henry and Wilkam 
to bail out tke rice and currie, etc. We kad 
kuge piles of rice on skeets, and just sko veiled 
it on tke plates ; we also kad several kinds of 
nice curries, ckateries, fruit, bread and butter, 
and a great abundance of native sweet-cakes 
and candy. We told tkem (tke Ckristians) all 



320 LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 

to eat as mucli as possible, and tliey certainly 
did good justice to the food, for it disappeared 
very rapidly. It was quite a business to help 
them all, and when, at last, I sat down, I could 
scarcely swallow a mouthful, I was so thorough- 
ly wearied out. After all had eaten as much 
as they could, Henry invited some of them to 
speak, and several very good addresses were 
made. You know our object in having these 
love-feasts, is to make our Christians break 
their caste, which they do when they attend 
one, as they sit next to each other, and the 
food is cooked by low-caste people. We did 
not separate until nearly 11 o'clock in the 
evening. The next day we had our commun- 
ion season. According to our Dutch fasJiion^ 
William and I arranged a bug table, at which 
all our communicants might sit while partak- 
ing of the supper. Including ourselves, there 
were about thirty of us, and it did our hearts 
good to sit down at the table of our Lord with 
our dear native brethren and sisters. My 
heart warmed towards them. Henry preached, 
and William addressed the communicants. 
Henry, too, made a short address in English. 
He was much affected, for it was a solemn 



LETTERS TO CHILDREN. 321 

thougli sweet season with us. He spoke of 
our past trials in our infant mission, of our 
separation, afflictions, etc.; also, of tlie Lord's 
goodness to us all. We all wept, for we could 
not help it. It was long before I could calm 
myself. We had a precious season together, 
^er service, Henry and Wilham consulted 
the Dutch Book, to learn how to form their 
churches according to the Dutch principles, 
etc. About 5 o'clock in the afternoon we 
all assembled together, and Henry arranged 
all the members of his church on one side, 
and William all his on the other. They then 
ordained Andrew as elder of this church, and 
gave the members all directions as to how they 
were to conduct themselves, etc., etc. — ^you 
know better than I can tell you. They thus 
organized two churches — one here, of which 
William is pastor, and Andrew, elder ; and the 
other to be at Yellore, of which Henry is pas- 
tor, and Daniel and Paul, elders. These two 
latter persons were ordained some months 
since, when Classis was formed. After all this 
was done, Henry and WiUiam addressed the 
congregation, and then invited any of the 
Christians who felt disposed to do so to ad- 



822 LETTEPtS TO CHILDREN. 

dress their brethren and sisters. Three very 
good addresses were made, bj Andrew, Daniel, 
and JSTathan. The meeting was a very pleas- 
ant one to lis all, and we did not separate 
until after 7 o'clock in the evening. The next 
day the Christians all returned to their several 
stations, having greatly enjoyed the three days 
they spent together. We thought of you, dear 
brothers, and wished you were among us. 
Henry told all the Christians about you, and 
said we hoped to see you in less than a year. 
We missed dear papa and Joseph very much, 
and many prayers were offered up for them. 
I am sure they would have been delighted to 
have been with us ; for we had a very pleasant 
time. Fanny and Anna returned to Yellore 
the same afternoon (Monday) as the members 
and Henry and William started on their tour. 
Well, dear brothers, I have given you a long" 
account of our mission, etc. I thought you 
would like to hear it. We often speak of you, 
and long for you to be among us. I know you 
will be very happy, engaged in this blessed 
work ; for it is indeed, a blessed work." 



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